She Will Be Loved
by nixdragon
Summary: Genevieve Swan finds that life gets complicated when your estranged twin sister comes to live with you and your dad... especially when she immediately gets involved with vampires. A sisfic/fraternal twinfic. Eventual Jacob/Oc. Currently through all of Twilight and starting New Moon. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Silence.

Glorious silence.

I appreciated it while I had it.

Soon enough, everyone would be talking. Talking about her. Maybe they'd talk to me, maybe they'd ask, maybe they wouldn't. But either way, tomorrow would be a day of neck aches and turning heads as every idiot in Forks High School muttered my name. My name and her name.

Genevieve and Isabella Swan.

I called her Isabella because, let's face it; it's much prettier than Bella. She thinks I do it to irritate her, but I'm not quite _that _bad of a sister. I just forget to change it when she's actually around… which is going to be a lot more often now.

Damn it.

My sister is coming to Forks.

"Gen?"

"Coming, Dad." I call. So much for silence.

"No need. Just headed out." He called back, probably from the base of the stairs. I was in no mood to move anyway: After a long practice, I had made it to the top of the stairs and halfway down the hallway before deciding to sit down and rest on the hardwood floor. I was now lying in the middle of the hall staring at the ceiling and wishing my dad would have been his normal self and left without a word.

"Bye." I yelled.

"Sure you don't wanna come?"

"I have plans, Dad." Did I? Maybe. I frowned. A nap was a plan, right?

"Alright." I heard the door creak behind him and sighed deeply as it swung squeakily shut.

Last day of silence, I thought as Dad's footsteps trailed off.

Last day of freedom.

Probably shouldn't waste it.

With renewed strength of purpose, I struggled to my feet and clomped down the stairs to the couch. With a muffled groan, I plopped down in my favorite spot and turned on Criminal Minds. Then, true to my plan, I fell asleep.

..

I woke up to the sound of the sports channel and found my dad sitting over in his big armchair. He turned to me with a raised eyebrow.

"Plans, huh?"

I grimaced and closed my eyes. "I was watching basketball for coach."

"Hmm." He replied.

"What."

"They play basketball on CBS?" He asked mildly.

"I had changed the channel for commercials." I lied grumpily.

"Your sister's upstairs." He said, changing the subject.

I grunted.

"She'd like to see you." He prodded.

I shrugged.

"Gen."

"Ok." I said, recognizing his tone as his 'last warning' tone. I rolled off the couch with an 'oof' and left the room, heading for the kitchen for a 'procrastinatory' drink of hot chocolate. This did not take as long as I liked and I was soon headed back up the stairs, trying not to rock my drink and licking cocoa off my fingers as I did.

"Dad, is there a schedule for the bathroom?"

"Not dad." I grumbled as I arrived at what should have been my bedroom. Instead I was up in the attic now. "And I shower at night: mornings, you just need to give me time to brush my teeth and stare at myself in horror."

Isabella looked up from her suitcase and smiled slightly. "Hi, Gen."

"Hey." I glanced around the room and sipped my cocoa. She had all my old cheesy furniture and the desktop computer I'd had to replace with birthday money to keep sane. Weird thing about my dad: he bought me my car, bought another for Isabella… but had no idea about technology. Even our tv was a mammoth, old school monster. "Need help?"

She shook her head and I pursed my lips as she went back to unpacking. I could tell she didn't want me: I also knew that if I went downstairs, I'd get sent right back up again. And if I went upstairs, I was going to fall asleep and my homework would… I frowned. Did I have homework?

"You alright?" Bella asked uneasily. She 'd turned to find me scowling at her computer.

"Yeah." I shrugged and drained the last of the cup of cocoa. What do you say to a twin you don't know? "Yeah."

"Ok."

And she was unpacking again. Books this time. Then some sweaters. A dress. I continued to lurk in the doorway until I noticed that Isabella was starting to look a little frazzled and then I gave up 'sister time' as a lost cause. I meandered over to the bathroom, clinked the cup down on the counter, noticed it was almost nine, and sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, but the dark circles under my eyes told me there was not much more postponing it.

I slipped into the shower and finished up pretty quickly, but ended up standing in the hot water doing nothing for about twice as long as I'd been productive. The warmth felt good, and every twenty seconds or so I nudged the shower handle to make it a _little_ bit hotter. Steam begin to fill the room and I sighed, feeling a little bit more relaxed, deciding that maybe having a sister again might be nice.

When I finally left the bathroom and found Bella waiting in the hallway, I was almost polite. As she smiled at my apology, I actually got a look at her face and there was something martyr-like about it: I started to wonder if maybe she didn't want this either… maybe… maybe my sister…

I fell asleep feeling sick with uncertainty, lulled by the rain pattering against my attic roof.

..

..

I woke late and ended up sprinting around the house while Isabella and Dad had breakfast. Bella's morning routine was a lot easier: no make-up, no jewelry, let her hair hang down, throw on a bulky sweater, eat some toast. I couldn't quite do that; as soon as I'd discovered make-up, I'd found I looked off without it: same with earrings. I'm sure my dad made quite a few amused looks at the ceiling at the sound of my feet pounding up and down the attic ladder/steps as I decided that two braids didn't look right with dangly earrings and ran upstairs to find another pair before running back down to check again. If it weren't for my desire to save up for a prom dress, I would have bought a mirror for my room: as it was, my recent move upstairs was becoming an issue for my ability to walk out the door not feeling like a hobo.

"Bye, Gen." My dad called.

"Bye." I called anxiously, running down the stairs with a dim hope of breakfast as I stuffed a book into an overfull backpack. "Isabella still here?"

"Bella." My sister called from the kitchen. My dad walked out and I headed to my sister.

"You can take off." I told her and I walked quickly to the fridge, my short lacey blue dress swishing against my jeans—you can't wear a dress by itself in Washington, but I do my best.

"K." She said, standing and moving to the window to look miserably out at the fog. With a sigh she turned back to watch me stuffing bread into the toaster.

"What?"

"I remember these being yellow." She said, gesturing to the dark blue cabinets.

I glanced up. "I don't like yellow. I like painting. Did 'em last summer."

"Oh." She said and she wandered out into the living room, staring at pictures with an uncomfortable frown and tight posture. I watched her for a second before my toast popped out and I began slathering it with butter and drowned it in cinnamon sugar.

"Seriously." I called out. "You can go. I have to take a different car anyway."

"Yeah?"

"I have practice and don't even pretend you want to stick around for that." I said. "You also have to grab your schedule: they didn't have it ready for me to grab before. "

She nodded mopily and went to grab her jacket and bag. I heard her struggling with her rain boots, the slam of the front door, and then the chug chug of her ancient truck. Uck. As much character it had and as much as I'd love to hang a picture of the monster on my wall, it was the least practical car she could have had next to a convertible. Not to mention it was a buy from the Blacks and that pest Jacob was sure to use it as an excuse to come up. There was also the fact that everyone was going to know it was her the second they heard that chug or saw that blob of rusty orangey red. My white Chevy cavalier was awful to look at, but had yet to let me down or be anything but inconspicuous.

I glanced at the clock and sighed. Speaking of the chevy, it was time I get out to her.

I pulled on my own rain boots and scampered out to the car, giving her a friendly kick: my relationship with my car was a bit like the one I had with Bella. I liked her well enough and I'd take care of her when worse came to worse, but she didn't have much to keep me interested. I paused, feeling rather satisfied with this thought, and my chevy got a pat on the roof in reward of my profundity.

I got to school about ten minutes before first bell and, sure enough, the first thing I saw was the truck sticking out above the tiny cars around him like so many puppies. Though, to be fair, a bit further on I saw the Cullen's stupid Volvo and that would have made anyone else forget about Bella's poor truck completely. I shoved them from my mind as I caught sight of Isabella's jacket, making its way through the rain as she slipped into the crowds of students.

"She made it here." I told my car, giving it another congratulatory pat. I sat for a moment longer, letting Bella get well and truly lost in the crowd so it wouldn't be weird that I didn't talk to her. People were going to know who she was either way: I wasn't about to be blamed for the attention she was about to suffer. "Alright, let's get this over with."

I climbed out of the car and held out a hand, letting the rain gather in my palm. I didn't much like drizzle, but maybe by the time school ended we'd have a good patter going. The sound of rain more than made up for the cold, in my opinion. I wiped my wet hand on my jeans and grabbed my bag out of the trunk and, catching sight of my friends, jogged a bit to get to the sidewalk.

After that, nothing much happened for a bit. I went to class. I didn't see my sister. Some of the girls from my team asked about her and whined a bit about attention stealers. I got sick of it pretty quickly and when I walked into the cafeteria to see Bella sitting with Lauren and her friends I decided it was as good an excuse as any to sit with them.

"Hey." Angela is the only one other than Bella to look over when I arrive, toting an extra chair behind me.

"How ya doing?" I ask.

"Fine."

"And you?" I looked to Bella.

"Everyone's calling me Isabella." She said drily. Ooops. "But they're very nice."

"Yeah?" I look at Jessica doubtfully and then turn to Lauren. "Hey, Mallory, did you still want any help with prom committee?"

"If you would help with the music…" She started and then trailed off with a shrug, too cool for finishing something as lame as a sentence.

"Sure." I said. "But I'll probably be getting a lot of requests from the girls." I nod my head over at the rest of my team.

"That's fine." Lauren said.

"Cool."

The conversation moved on to the other girl's requests and then to Isabella. It got a bit boring, honestly, getting to hear my twin sister's life story, and I tuned out until I noticed Bella get distracted by something behind me. What…?

"Who are they?" Bella asked Jessica.

_Oh._

Jessica glanced over and giggled but I could have told Bella without looking if my mouth hadn't been full of pizza.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She whispered so quietly that I had to read her lips.

"Buncha show offs." I muttered.

Bella nodded distractedly. "They are… very nice looking." She said weakly.

I grunted.

Jess giggled. "Yes!" Holy cow, what a girl. "They're all together though —Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together."

"Edward's still up for grabs." I teased and grinned as Jessica blushed.

"Edward Cullen?" Bella asked. "Which ones are the Cullens? They don't look related…"

"Nope." I agreed. "All adopted."

"Dr. Cullen, their dad, is in his twenties or early thirties." Jessica clarified. "The Hales are brother and sister, twins—the blondes—and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children." Bella commented.

"Well, they weren't adopted yesterday, Iz." I snorted. Bella glanced at me, torn between annoyance and appreciation at my sarcasm.

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

"That's really kind of nice — for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"Bit shady , if you ask me." I grumbled, turning to look over at the table over my shoulder.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" I heard Isabella ask. I was still staring at the Cullens. What was it about them?

"No. They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska." Jessica informed her. I continued to stare. They were all pretty attractive: was I jealous? Ok, yes, but still…

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?"

Ha.

I turned and smirked at Jess. "Edward." We said at the same time. I laughed and turned away as Jessica continued.

"He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed and I smiled. I'm not the only with Cullen issues… though her motive is a bit different.

I turned back to the table and chugged the last of my glass of ice water before wrinkling my nose at the aftertaste of greasy, cafeteria pizza. "I'm off." I said, standing but reconsidering before I grabbed my tray. "What's your schedule the rest of the day?"

"Here." Bella spilled her pencils all over the floor but managed to give me her schedule without injuring herself: quite graceful for her.

"Huh." I said. "One class together… Phy. Ed." I pursed my lips and wiggled the schedule as I thought, reading over one more time before bending over to find my sister crawling around under the table with the ever helpful Angela. "You know where Biology is?"

"I can show her." Angela said. "She has that next?"

"Yeah." Bella said, looking very flustered as she glanced up at me. I grinned.

"Having a good day, Isabella?" I asked.

"Bella." Was all she replied.

I laughed and walked out.

..

I had Pre-Calc next, which was entertaining enough, what with Tyler Crowley being my desk mate. He looked especially cute as he waved good-bye to me, still laughing about our argument over my team's last weekend's loss being his fault for not being there as a good luck charm or mine for not having a pair of lucky socks like he did. As I moved on to Gym, I was smiling like an idiot and was only a little annoyed when Bella showed up with Mike drooling over her like a demented, blonde puppy.

"Genevieve, hey!" He called.

"Hey." I said. Mike is cute enough and popular enough that I have to be nice to him. "Want me to show you where to find the locker room, Bella?" I asked, seeing she felt exactly the same way about him.

"Sure." Bella agreed, but it wasn't a foolproof plan: the boys' locker room was on the way and Mike continued to focus the conversation on Bella.

"So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."

I looked over, raising an eyebrow but Bella spoke before I could.

"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" Bella said innocently. I began to snicker and had to drop behind a bit to keep from giving her away.

"Yes," Mike said, glancing back at me so that I had to pretend to be having a coughing fit. "he looked like he was in pain or something…. Are you ok, Swan?"

"Peachy." I choked. He turned back to Bella, looking at her expectantly.

It took her a moment to remember. "Oh… I don't know. I… I never spoke to him." She shrugged helplessly, looking back at me. I just shrugged: we had reached the locker room and I knew I could ask her about it when we were alone.

"He's a weird guy." Mike said, obviously stalling. Bella had to stop in the doorway to keep from being rude and I of course was stuck behind them. Not that Mike even seemed to notice I was there. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."

Are you serious.

Bella smiled awkwardly and slipped into the locker room. I turned to look at Mike skeptically.

"What?" He asked, looking offended.

I frowned, not sure I wanted to openly admit that he wasn't good enough for the sister of Genny Swan. Another thought, just as bad, saved me. "Would yoooooou be willing to help me out with something?"

"What? Help you?" Mike looked completely confused. I don't know that we'd ever talked before.

"Bella sucks at moving." I told him.

"Well, that's not—"

"No, ask her: she's horrible at sports. " I hissed urgently. "And she is going to _humiliate_ herself if we don't help her."

"Ok. So…" Mike didn't seem to know what to do about that.

"If you're on her team, don't let her get the ball!"

"Oh."

"And she will thank you."

"Oh." He looked suspicious.

"Just do it." I sighed and then I swooped off into an empty locker room. Unfortunately, I couldn't ask Isabella anything: I'd forgotten she didn't have a uniform. I found her in the gym sitting on the bleachers with her folded uniform beside her. Well, that's one class taken care of, I supposed.

I gave her a quizzical look and mouthed, "Ok?"

She shrugged.

I raised an eyebrow.

She gave me a thumbs up and an eye roll.

I laughed.

Gym went pretty well. Mike and I were on the same team and he was actual pretty decent at volleyball. We won every game, partly thanks to Jessica staring distractedly at us: though as this was because Mike kept asking me questions about Bella, it didn't give us too much of an advantage. Winning gave me enough endorphins that I didn't mind their obsession with her quite as much and when class was over I promised to meet her after school before I ran off to practice.

"You sure?" She asked after school, following me back to the main office. "Won't you be late?"

"Coach always goes out for a sandwich before practice." I told her. And I need to hear your story about Ed—" We walked into the office and I finished in a quieter voice as I realized…. "ward. Oh." He was already in the office.

He turned back to look at us in a panic. The receptionist called him back, her face pink.

"I'm sorry but it's just too far in the year. And all the other Biology's are full."

What.

I turned to look at Bella: she was staring at the floor. My eyes narrowed and I glared over at Edward, he stared right back. I put an arm around my sister and scowled at him; how dare he? As if everyone else wasn't bad enough, staring at her; what could she possibly have done to deserve his look of hatred?

"Never mind, then, I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help."

Still glaring right back at me, he walked quickly toward the door and fled past us.

"What a dick." I muttered to my sister. She nodded meekly and walked over to the desk to speak with the receptionist. I turned to glare out the glass of the door but Edward was gone. "Dick." I repeated.

"Language, Swan." Mr. Jesse commented drily, appearing behind me with a stack of papers and his glasses askew.

"Oh. No." I said. "I was thinking about… " I waved a hand about distractedly toward where I'd last seen Cullen. "about my friend, Dick. Richard."

"Richard." Mr. Jesse repeated doubtfully.

"Richard Edwards." I said earnestly, glancing over as Isabella started walking back. Mr. Jesse shrugged and shook his head, not caring enough to yell at me any more.

"Hey, Gen." Bella said quietly as I opened the door for her.

"You alright? I'm gonna head back." I told her.

"I'm fine." She looked about to cry. "Really."

"You're a terrible liar." I told her lightly.

She smiled weakly. "I know."

"Ha." I said.

We stood awkwardly for a bit.

"Well, I'll see you." I said finally.

"Bye." She said.

"Yeah." I said lamely.

I watched her walk away, feeling a bit of an idiot. Only person in the world I can't carry on a normal conversation with and she's my twin sister. Figures. Then again, that's just Bella. On a different wavelength, in a different world. I suppose I should just be happy she hasn't embarrassed me. I turned away and kicked at the ground. Why did everyone have to like her so much though? I'd been living here for ages and half of them never even looked at me, even at my games. As I walked back to the gym, as I practiced, as I laughed with my teammates, as I drove home I found myself focusing more on more on one particular question, even as I scolded my selfishness…

What was so interesting about Isabella Swan?


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was better and worse.

People were starting to calm down about Bella. I had less questions about her and less people were staring. On the other hand, she was getting the beginnings of a fan club: Mike and Eric glared at each other every time the other talked to her. Jessica was following them like a shadow, hoping to get a bit of Mike's attention: what is it with her and guys who ignore her? I noticed other boys looking at her too. A couple people had tried asking me about her before they realized that I knew her about as well as they did.

I was getting a little bored by it all.

I was also a little hurt.

When lunch came, I had to force myself to go talk to her…

"Isabella." I muttered the word like a threat.

"Bella." She muttered back, staring at her lunch tray.

I hadn't sat with her, but when I saw the Cullens' table I'd walked over and tapped her on the shoulder.

"What the heck happened?" I demanded.

"_I don't know._" Bella hissed miserably.

We both turned and looked at Edward's empty spot. I shook my head and walked away.

How did she manage to change _everything?_

...

With Edward the Dick gone, the week would have been uneventful, boring, and forgettable if not for my stupid Chevy. Saturday morning, on my way to the coffee shop where I make minimum wage to earn little techy things that Charlie won't buy me—an ipod, a computer, payments on the cell my mom bought to make up for not seeing me, so on—I heard a clicking. This was nothing new: my cavalier made that sound quite often. This time, however, it was followed by my turn into a parking lot and then a loud pop, a flapping sound, and several words I am not supposed to say.

"UUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH." I finished finally, getting out of my car to stare at my flat front tire. "I don't have time for this!"

I stomped into the coffee shop through the back door and told Annie, my boss, I'd be in in a bit. She nodded distractedly, peering into the oven: we didn't get our rush until lunch anyway. Pulling out my cell, I marched back out into the parking lot and glared at my car as I dialed my dad's work number and kicked my car.

"Gen? What's wrong?" He demanded.

"Calm down, Dad. Yeesh!" I grumbled. He sounded freaked out.

"What is it then?" he asked, immediately distracted by something else. I frowned. His voice seemed off somehow…

"Flat tire. And I can't deal with it, I need to get to work." I kicked my car again.

"Gen, I don't…" Dad sighed, not wanting to be angry but obviously a bit impatient with me. "I'll see what I can do."

"No hurry, Dad." I said. "Work ends at 4."

"Right." He sighed tiredly.

I frown, glancing at the coffee shop. Do people even know it's open? "You ok?"

"Fine." My dad sighed. "I'll tell you later…"

"K."

"Gen…" My dad says, catching me about to hang up.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Go straight home, ok? Find a ride if you have to, but don't walk." He sound concerned.

"Oh. Ok, dad." I kick my car again. "I'll see you later."

"Call me and let me know when you get home, alright?" He insisted.

"Um, yeah. I'll try." I hung up before he could point out this was not an answer. "Stupid car."

Work went as well as ever. I spent most of it either making coffee foam monsters or planning exactly how I could convince Tyler to give me a ride home without him realizing I could've called Bella. I'd gone so far as to start daydreaming about exactly how this would get me either a first date or a first date and was starting on imagining the kiss as my shift ended and I called good bye to Annie and Cal, slamming the door shut behind me as I pulled out my cell and walked over to the car.

"What."

There was a jack under my car, propping it up so that the missing flat tire was not an issue. There was a small bowl sitting beside my front bumper, holding all the screws and whatnot needed to hold the flat's replacement. And, struggling with the tire he'd stowed in the trunk of his car, his sleek black ponytail caught between the rubber and his shoulder, his face screwed up in annoyance and pain was only the pain in my neck worse than Bella.

Jacob freaking Black.

With an angry huff, I shoved the phone into my pocket and stomped over.

"I can do that." I snapped.

"What?" He tried to turn his head and failed, his hair still caught. "Oh, hey, Gen."

"I can do that." I repeated. "Just give me the tire and the bill and you can head out."

"Yeah, but there's no need for you to get all messed up." Jacob said cheerily. "Besides, you look exhausted."

"Well, that's because I came out to find a five year old messing with my car." I grumbled.

"I'm six…" He had to stop as he dropped the tire to the ground. I started giggling. "Teen. Oh, come on, Gen."

"I'm sorry." I laughed. "But… you have to admit…"

"Yeah, yeah…" He grumbled good-naturedly. "Close the trunk, will you?"

I did, mainly because I'd noticed that his pants were soaked to the knees from the puddle next to my car and I didn't want any part of that. I was still in a fairly bad mood and wasn't about to pull any punches.

"I thought you were two years younger." I said, watching him slide the tire into place.

"What?" He flipped his ponytail over his shoulder and glanced up at my tight face.

"You're two years younger than me and I'm seventeen." I informed him.

And yep, sure enough, Jacob Black was now in just as bad a mood as I was. "Age has nothing to do with fixing cars." He pointed out.

"So why'd you lie?" I asked.

"I didn't lie." He scowled. "I rounded."

"Your birthday is in January, Jacob." I said. "I went to your party, remember?"

"No." He said, looking honestly confused.

"Well, a couple months is a long time for a six year old." I conceded kindly.

He glared up at me as he started to fasten my tire into place. "Yeah. Or you spent the whole time outside with Paul."

I frowned. Oh, right. "I'd forgotten about him." I said slowly.

"Well, he still talks about you so…" Jacob stopped, deciding he'd said too much. I glanced down at my hands, embarrassed. "Gen…"

"Just fix my damn car, Jacob." I growled before stomping over to his car to lay across the back seat, staring at the ceiling. I can mope just as well as Bella when I want to. Unfortunately I didn't have much time, as Jacob came over again pretty soon.

"Done." He told me.

"Yeah?" I sat up and stared blearily over at my car. "Ugh, you're soaking." I glanced around. "Jacob, it's pouring: why didn't you take a break?"

"You know the rain's not stopping any time soon." He told me. He went around back and I started to awkwardly pull myself out of his back seat, scooting on my butt for the most part. When he came back, he was wearing a different sweatshirt, this one covered with oil stains.

"Ew, Jacob."

"I'm cold. Come check your tire so I can go get supper." He walked back to slam his trunk shut. I stood as he came back, taking advantage of the inch I have on him to stare down my nose. I sauntered over to stare at the wheel before turning back with a frown.

"This wheel is way too good for my car." I said with a scowl.

"I got it off a junker when I was fixing Embry's van." Jacob shrugged. "You don't have to pay for it and I have three more I can put on next time you make it up to the Res."

I pursed my lips and stared at him, a little kid covered in black gunk and rain, angry with me and still offering me help. Oh, crap: does he have a crush on me? Please no. I shook off the thought and jerked a thumb at the shop. "I can get you a cup of cider or something if you like. To hold you over." Anyone else I'd offer dinner to and I'm pretty sure he knows it.

"Sure." He sighed. "Thanks, Gen."

"Genevieve."

"Thanks, Genevieve." He said meekly.

I walked over to the coffee shop, knowing he was either rolling his eyes or sticking out his tongue at my back. I grabbed two ciders and mentally began calculating how much of my prom dress Jacob had saved me verses how much jewelry I wouldn't be able to buy because of the cider. By the time I got through the line and back to him, we were both in a pretty foul mood and we argued for ten minutes over who should try to drive the Chevy first before I swore at him and went to start my car anyway.

I was fiddling with the windshield wipers and cherishing the heat on my face when Jacob knocked on my side window. I ignored him for a second, glowering at my steering wheel and listening to Kansas blaring away. He knocked again. I closed my eyes and waved for him to just come in.

"Genevieve, your car is clicking." He said as he opened the door.

"I know."

"Genevieve, that's not good."

"I know!" I slammed my head against the steering wheel and groaned. "But money."

"I can fix it for free, Gen." I paused considering. "Or for another cider…" He joked.

"You free tomorrow?" I asked tiredly, my face still resting on the steering wheel.

"Yeah." He paused. "And I can teach you how to fix it, if you want."

I hesitated, measuring the irritation of another day with him verses learning not to need him. Finally I turned my head and blinked at him. "Yeah." I said. "That'd be cool."

"Cool." He said. "Tell Bella and Charlie I said hi."

"k." I agreed. "Bye."

"Bye, Gen."

I slammed my head against the steering wheel again. Worst. Weekend. Ever. Dang. It. A—

"Gen, could you drive a bit so I can make sure the tire's alright?" Jacob interrupted my mental whining.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry."

I sighed as he slammed the door again and drove home, remembering to call my dad but too distracted to ask him what he'd been so worried about. I took the supper Bella'd made up to my room and fell asleep listening to ELO cheerfully telling me all about the wonder of blue skies.

..

The next day was rainy again of course, still a quiet rain to my disappointment. I was still irritated, stomping around the house with my sketchbook writing down and scribbling everything I wanted to change. If Charlie hadn't limited me to one change per season, I would have knocked the house down by my twelfth birthday. As it was, I was growing very adept at convincing him that my major ideas were really just changing one aspect of a room. Hence the attic becoming 'livable' and the living room becoming 'comfortable'. I was having a harder time convincing him to make the bathroom 'tolerable' but it didn't stop me from heading up to my room to shred several magazines worth of new showers and multi colored toilets.

"Gen." My dad called up. "Door."

I swore as I remembered Jacob, swore again at my pajamas, and swore a third time because I like swearing. Quickly, I grabbed a sweatshirt and a sportsbra, dug around for a t-shirt and threw them on with a pair of ancient leggings and some gross looking shorts. Pulling my hair into a messy bun, I thundered down the stairs, muttered a muffled apology to Bella as I almost killed her on her way up, and skidded to a stop at the bottom with my heart beating in panic in my ears.

I paused a moment and then straightened up to walk calmly to the front door. There was no one there. I pursed my lips in thought and leaned my forehead against the door, trying to see the driveway but only managing to strain my eyes. Dad wouldn't have let him in, would he? Great. All I needed was another hour of small talk with the Black's baby boy. Why couldn't Rachel or Rebecca be the ones who knew about cars? I pulled my head back a little and tapped it against the glass.

Stupid.

Car.

Stupid.

Jacob.

Stupid.

Weekend.

Stupid.

"Gen?"

I startled, smacking my shoulder against the door as I turned violently toward the speaker.

"Hi, Jacob." I said weakly, holding my shoulder and screwing up my face against the pain. "Ready to perform miracles on the chevy of evil?"

He laughed. "Your car's not that bad. Just needs a tune up. Maybe some paint."

I looked him over, considering. "Is _that_ something you'd be able to do?"

"Um…" He bit his lip, thinking things over. "Maybe? I'll check." He looked doubtful.

"Eh. Worth a shot. Now come on: we haven't got all day." I shoved out the door and over to the car, popping up the hood and glaring down at it.

Fixing the car took the rest of the afternoon. As I'd suspected, Jacob kept trying to drag me into small talk and I became a bit tetchy with him, interrupting his polite questions about basketball with pointing at random objects and asking for their names. By the end, Black was giving me monosyllabic instructions and I was obeying with silence. When he shut the hood and asked for my keys, I handed them over and we tiredly listened together as the engine came to life with an absence of clicking.

"Woo." I said, with about the smallest amount of enthusiasm possible. "Now what."

"I'm going to check on the truck." Jacob sighed. "You want in?"

I frowned. "I—"

"It's ok if you don't want to." Jacob interrupted, smiling apologetically. "It's a lot of work."

"Challenge accepted." I said immediately, feeling a burst of anger and stubbornness at his kind words. He nodded wearily and started to move slowly over to Bella's mammoth monster, his feet dragging. "Actually…"

"Yeah?" Jacob asked.

"Bella's truck is fine." I said. "It can wait until one of us feels like heading up there… My dad can probably take it up on his next fishing trip, actually."

"True." Jacob smiled and I saw a hint of relief: he looked a lot younger when he smiled and I felt a little bad for him.

"Seriously, Jacob." I said. "Why don't you head home?"

He sighed and glanced up at the house. "Yeah. That'd probably be best." He muttered.

_Oooooh_, I thought as I watched him pull up his hood and walk over to his bike.

_He likes __Isabella._

I snorted and went inside to shower.

Because for the first time I was thinking: _Better her then me._

..

The next day was a Monday and a relief: weekends always lasted too long and every day I spent at school brought summer and prom a bit closer. The thought of summer was soon chased from my head, however, when I walked out of Biology to find a world of white.

"Yes!" I yelled, kicking a pile so that it flopped a bit into the air. "Snow!"

"Alleluia!" My buddy and team captain Annalise crowed.

"Finally." A guy behind us grumbled.

I tossed a bit of snow at him, missing completely but starting up a very dramatic snow ball fight. By the time I reached second period English Lit, my entire body was soaked and shivering and I had just enough energy to collapse into my seat and clunk my head on the desk.

"Gen… hey, Gen…"

"Whaaaaat." I mumbled, opening on eye to find Lauren.

"Look who's back." She whispered, her eyes lazily looking to the back of the classroom. I turned but she was already telling me in a smug voice. "Cullen."

"Cullen." I repeated in a hiss, turning and giving him a full-on death stare. He looked calmly back for a second and then raised one eyebrow in scorn before turning to stare at the board. I turned back to Lauren. "Why do you care?"

She shrugged.

The day was a bit boring from then on. I noticed Bella looking pale at lunch but, already knowing the reason, decided to ignore it. The only solution I had to her problem was to beat up Edward Cullen and I had slight doubts about the plausibility of that plan. I did still find the idea amusing and shared it with Tyler, who offered to hold Edward's arms back and then got yelled at by Mr. Jesse for talking. I felt bad about that and slid him a mini Hershey bar under the desk when Mr. Jesse looked away. Tyler smiled at that but we didn't get another chance to talk. In Gym, Bella was protected from misadventure by the everpresent Mike and afterwards, my English and practice went by fairly quickly.

By the time I got home, supper was waiting on the kitchen table. I scooped up the plate and carried it upstairs, barging into Isabella's room and walking over to sit against the wall by the window. She was reading another of her hideous old books and ignored me until I finished the last bite of chicken, set it aside, and clambered onto the end of her bed to stare at her.

"What?" Bella asked, not looking up.

"Come on, sis. Girl talk." She turned pink and I leaned forward, puzzled and intrigued. "Edward was back…"

"Nothing happened." She insisted, her nose drawing closer to her book.

"So he's not angry anymore?" I clarified.

"No. But he was nice today."

"Did he apologize?" I asked.

"No. We just talked. He was nice." She sounded a little defensive and a little confused herself.

"Is he on some kind of medication?" I asked.

She laughed. "Maybe." She set the book down and drew her legs up to hug them against her chest. "His eyes changed color…" She said thoughtfully.

"Anything else?" I asked, telling myself to google that later. Maybe he was half blind or something: it would explain the glaring… Though not the attempt to change classes. "Isabella?"

"Bella." She said, but she wasn't scolding. "He knew I was Bella."

"Everyone knows that by now." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but he was gone all week."

I began picking at the threads on her quilt. "Huh." Pick. Pick. "Told you they were sketchy."

"He's very intuitive." Bella said defensively. "And kind. He saw that I—" She broke off and refused to look at me. "We just talked about Forks." Her voice was high and uncomfortable. "And how I miss Phoenix."

Not that intuitive: I could see it too. "You hate it here." I said, my voice flat.

"I…"

"You'd rather be a hundred miles away then have anything to do with dad and me. That's true, isn't it." I snapped. And I'd wondered why she was so quiet around me. Of all the…

"No…" She tried to lie, but I'm the liar, not her.

"Whatever, Bella." I slid off the bed and gave her one last scowl.

After slamming her door, I went downstairs and ate half a bucket of chocolate ice cream.

It didn't help.

..

..

Author's Note:

So, I am combining movie and book worlds: so Bella's met Jacob I think I've stuck with book so far. Thanks for the reviews! It's nice to hear from people so fast. You've already got me thinking about what I want to happen and what needs to happen. As to who ends up with Gen... I'm writing this with a Jacob/Gen end in mind, but I will say that yeah... Gen is going to be fighting it for a long time. Like a super long time. Poor Jacob. Oh! And as for Edward: Gen's mind is like Charlies: a bit tougher for him to make out-that becomes clearer as she has more interactions with him, but those chapters are a couple weeks away so figured I'd throw that in here. Anyway, hope you enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

Feeling rather lonely and irritated at the idea that my sister not only didn't like living with me—I'd forgotten I'd been less than welcoming myself—and furious that she would think anything nice about the Cullens, I fell asleep on the couch watching Die Hard long after my small family had gone to bed.

Dad woke me up in the morning and told me to catch a ride with Bella: he wasn't trusting my car in the new snow after the little chat he'd had with Jacob and only had one set of snow chains. In a completely foul mood, I made my way up to the attack and found my favorite outfit, favorite jewelry, and favorite snow boots before making my way down to curl my long, dark brown hair.

When Isabella appeared in the bathroom door, she looked rather overeager and also seemed in a hurry to get rid of me. Not in a mood to linger, I went to fetch an apple and we met at the front door. Bella made her way over to the truck and I slammed and locked the front door behind us. Bella was already in the driver's seat, idiot that she is, but I was in no mood to argue about my experience with the weather. I climbed into the passenger seat and stared at a smudge on the windshield all the way to school where I hopped out as soon as she parked and began to walk quickly toward my first class. Maybe I could catch one of my friends and vent a bit, I thought. Maybe that would get rid of all this annoying pressure swirling around in my chest. I stepped over a spot of ice and began to walk more carefully, starting to look back to give Bella a rude warning to be careful. Maybe…

_Screeeeech._

Oh, come on. What idiot drove full speed into the freaking parking lot?

I turned and found a rush of adrenaline bursting into my veins as I took in the scene, took in the dark blue van skidding toward us, took in my sister standing at the back of her truck waiting to be smashed like a bug against the wall.

I managed one step toward her but I knew it was too late and all my hurried step did was place me right back on the spot of ice I'd just avoided. I found myself falling backward, still watching the horror on my sister's face as… as something brushed against my back and restored my balance? I turned my head but no one was there and when I looked back all I had to see was the van, come to a stop where my sister had been standing.

You might expect me to yell her name.

I yelled the 'sh' word.

I walked quickly over, expecting the worse and starting to pull off my coat, meaning to use my sweater to stop any bleeding. Stupid Bella, stupid Bella, stupid… oh, hey, Tyler. Stupid Tyler. Stupid Bella. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"—so fast?" I heard a voice saying.

"I was standing right next to you, Bella." A melodic voice replied. He looked up at me as I rounded the front of the van and stared over the lack of a gap between vehicles. "You can put your coat back on, Swan." He told me, looking at me standing there awkwardly with my coat around my elbows.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" Someone shouted behind me.

What? Idiots! Wait for paramedics.

"I think you'd better go help out." Edward said, looking both amused and distracted as he read the look on my face.

"Right." I said, shaking my head and stalking back the way I came. "Oi! Crowley! Don't you move a muscle!"

Surprisingly, everyone listened to me until the teachers and EMTs swarmed in, catching a bit of the calm in my voice as I ordered them around like I ordered my team around at practice. Dad showed up as they put Bella in the ambulance, but thanks to my call he didn't seem too worried, though he insisted on talking to the EMTs for a second opinion and refused to let me go into school until I was checked for shock. As he was arguing this point, the ambulance drove away and he decided that I needed to come with him to the hospital, which was about as pleasant an outcome as I could have hoped for.

"Dad, please don't send me to Dr. Cullen." I begged as we pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"You know my opinion on avoiding the Cullens." My dad said sternly. He knew my opinion about the Cullens, too. It was an old argument.

"Dang it all." I muttered as he got out of the car.

I soon found myself shoved off in some corner room, wrapped in a blanket and waiting for the model doctor. I sat on the plastic sheet of the exam table in a paper gown beneath the blanket, wondering if how much time I had before someone appeared; I'd discovered that I'd put my underwear on inside out again and it was all I could think about unless I allowed myself to worry about my oh so wonderful sister or the actually wonderful Tyler.

Finally, the doctor appeared.

Why did all the Cullens have to be so_ hot_? For that matter, why did it have to be today that I'd had to dress in the dark? Uck. At least my hair was nice: I still felt like a piece of junk being in the same room as him.

"Miss Swan."

"Hi, Dr. Cullen." I sighed. "You hear the story yet?"

He laughed. "Yes. And, before you ask, everyone seems to be on the path to recovery." He glanced over me. "Though I haven't heard how you were involved."

I considered for a moment, chewing on my cheek as I thought. "I might… I might have hit my head?"

"Ok." He said. "Does it hurt?"

"No…" I said slowly, embarrassed.

"Did you fall? Any memory loss?" I shook my head. He smiled kindly. "What's wrong, Genevieve?"

"I… felt something." His face stiffened, almost imperceptible. "I remember slipping but I don't remember… It felt like something caught me but there was no one around… Can you feel things? Like seeing things, only feeling things?" I smiled apologetically at the idiocy of my question.

"Let me see." Dr. Cullen set down his clipboard and carefully looked me over: pupils, skull, tonsils, and so on. Then he shook his head. "I think it may have simply been the stress of the situation, Gen. I'm sure if you'd been less preoccupied you would have looked closer and seen whoever it was that steadied you."

I frowned and nodded. What was it, though… what had Bella been asking Edward when I'd found them?

My thought was interrupted by a knock on the door and Edward came in.

"Privacy." I snapped.

"Edward." Dr. Cullen said reproachfully.

"Tyler and Bella are wondering how she is." Edward defended himself.

"Liar." I muttered miserably. I'd been with the two long enough to see Tyler catching whatever Mike and Eric had. And Bella knew I was tough, even if she did care.

"I'll be letting her go any minute." Dr. Cullen promised. "I just want one more word with her."

Edward nodded and slipped out. I watched the door click shut and then sat quietly as Dr. Cullen went over all the symptoms I should report to him if they came up. After asking me one last time if I was ok, he left and I finally got a chance to change, forgetting to fix my undies but in too much of a hurry to care.

I found Edward lurking around again. He smiled handsomely and I wrinkled my nose: it was hard to know how to act around him. With Mike, I knew to hide the dislike because he was popular and Jessica liked him. With Eric, I could do whatever I wanted because he was just Eric. With Edward, I wasn't sure what was expected or how I felt about him smiling his insanely handsome smile at me.

"You ok?"

"Yep." I said shortly, over enunciating each syllable. What did he want?

"No need to worry about Tyler." Edward told me. "Bella's not his type."

What.

"I'm her twin sister." I pointed out. Fraternal twin, but sisters are sisters. "And who says I care about Crowley?"

He just smiled, looking a little tense. "I could help… Give you some hints…?" He said awkwardly, regretting the offer as he gave it.

"Shove off." I told him tiredly. "I'm not going to start stealing boys from my sister until I know who she likes." I exaggerated… not that I could steal Edward anyway. Or would want to. Dick.

Edward had been squinting at me, his look the look Lizzy gave when she wasn't wearing her contacts, but as I spoke his eyes briefly widened slightly and I had to pause, trying to remember what I'd done to merit that reaction. He didn't give me time to think, immediately pointing me down the hall and offering to bring me to my dad before they all ran off without me. He hurried me so fast that I walked right past the room Tyler was in, forgetting to say good-bye.

Damn it.

Dick.

..

..

Author's note:

So I know this chapter is about half as long as the others, which is weird to me: I feel like there's something I could have elaborated but it hasn't come to me since I wrote this a week and half a go, so sorry? Still working things out. Let me know what you think. I really appreciate all the comments! Super helpful and giving me new places to take them and making me rethink how things can work out. Like I said before, Gen's gonna half a ton of growing up to do. Especially when Bella actually starts going out with Edward... Dun dun dun? Yeah. Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

The only good thing about the accident was that it got Edward and Bella to separate for a bit. Unfortunately, every other boy I'd ever met swarmed in to fill the gap. This all, weirdly enough, made all the girls depressed.

_All_ the girls.

As in, Bella, too.

It went like this:

Mike passive aggressively rejected Jess when she asked him to the spring dance. Tyler kept talking to me about Isabella. Tyler was starting to ignore Lauren, who I hadn't realized until now was a rival for his affections. Eric… well, poor Eric was more of an annoyance really.

There were a couple others, of course, but none of them actually had the courage to act on it: they just hung around staring like brain dead hyenas until I appeared to chase them away. This was becoming my only interaction with Bella: at home, she liked to be alone with her thoughts and I'd grown bored with chasing her around to ask her questions. At school, I felt obligated to shoo away the people trying to do exactly what I'd been trying to do at home and she'd smile at me and then we'd move on.

At home it felt like she'd never really left Phoenix.

At school, I wished she never had.

The worst part was knowing she had no idea what she was doing. Bella was a loner, shy type: she had no idea how I felt, walking around my own home with someone who never talked to me. And all of the guys… she seemed to think sending them our way, giving us her castoffs would make us feel better:

"You should ask Tyler to the spring dance." Bella had said casually, halfway through one of the few meals I'd made it too: some weird Mexican thing. She'd probably stalled… that or she was finally learning to be careful in the kitchen, therefore taking longer with all the ridiculous dicing the meal must have required.

"Why." I asked, taking another large chomp off my fork and chewing grumpily. I was probably giving myself wrinkles with all of the frowning I'd done lately, but the thought did not improve my expression.

"Well… I talked with Jess." Bella started.

"Of course you did." I muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Why should she talk to her twin sister before she talks to a girl I know she barely tolerates?

"Well, Jess is going with Mike. And Angela could ask Eric… Lauren could go with Austin… " she trailed off, waiting for me to finish.

"And why would Tyler agree to go with me?" I asked.

Bella shrugged. "You are his only real girl friend."

I snorted and took a sip of water. "Who are you going with then?" I would have asked about Edward but Dad was sitting right next to us, staring at his plate as he listened to his daughters chat.

"I'm going to Seattle." Bella said simply.

"Why?" My dad and I said as one.

"Well, I wanted to get a few books—the library here is pretty limited—and maybe look at some clothes." She shrugged.

"That truck probably doesn't get very good gas mileage." Dad pointed out.

"I know." Bella told him. "I'll stop in—"

"Isabella, just borrow my car." I interrupted. "Jacob just gave it a check-up and I'm sure you could use the extra gas money to buy another romance novel or something."

"Still." My dad fretted. "Seattle is a big city—you could get lost."

Bella and I gave him matching incredulous looks. Bella answered first. "Dad, Phoenix is five times the size of Seattle—and I can read a map. Don't worry about it."

Isabella can read a map? I opened my mouth to ask, but Dad was already talking.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Dad asked.

I gave a very loud snort and choked on the chicken I'd been swallowing, pretty much taking myself out of the rest of the conversation as I began to cough painfully into my napkin.

"That's… You ok, Gen?" Bella wondered. I nodded, eyes watering. "Ok… That's alright, Dad. I'll probably just be in dressing rooms all day." Nice save, sis. I tried to give her a thumbs up, but was hit by more coughing.

"You sure you don't want to go to the dance?" My dad said.

"I don't dance." Bella said with a wince.

I let out an explosive sigh as the coughing finally ended, my throat still burning slightly from ill treatment. "Water, water, water." I said rawly, grabbing at my cup and chugging the rest.

"Better?" My dad asked.

"Will be." I turned to my sister. "So you really think Tyler would say yes?"

...

The next day was depressing.

I walked into Pre-calc and slipped into my desk, taking out my notebook to stare blankly at the rows of problems. Nervously, I began tapping my pencil against the corner of my desk. Mr. Jesse was writing nonsense on the board (He called it math) and everyone else was copying it down. I fought down a surge of giggles and pulled at my shirt, a burgundy blouse that was perfect for my amber eyes.

"Hey, Swan."

Oh, no. I wasn't ready!

I turned and gave Tyler a grin. "Hey, Crowley. Ready to do all my homework for me?" I tilted my head at the board, my long hair falling silkily over my shoulder.

He smiled at me. "No, no: Gen. The trick is bribery. Cheaters never prosper."

I rolled my eyes. "How am I supposed to prosper if I'm giving all my money to random teachers?"

"Good point." He laughed, pulling out his homework and offering it to me to compare. We only had two different and each was a minor mistake, the first his and the second mine.

"So." I said, after a short argument over who should be cheating off whom. The bell rang. "Damn it."

"What?" Tyler asked.

"I wanted to ask you—" Mr. Jesse interrupted by calling my name for role: he liked to go out of order if he saw us misbehaving. "Present!" Damn it!

"I'll walk you to Gov." Tyler hissed. Mr. Jesse called his name. "Present."

Needless to say, I heard nothing for the rest of the class and was pretty close to throwing up by the end. Strangely, it is the one Pre-calc class I remember most. Yep.

Tyler walked out before me but waited at the door. We chatted a bit about basketball and my car and his new car and then we caught sight of the door to my government class and I slowed down, knowing my face was a bit pink.

"What was it you wanted to ask me?" Tyler said.

"Ooooh." I shrugged. "You know. Wanna go to the spring dance with me?"

"Oh." Tyler looked surprised. I smiled painfully. "Oh."

"Wrong Swan?" I asked. I couldn't help myself.

He grimaced. "I wouldn't… I wouldn't say that, Gen." He looked down and then at me, apologetic. "I'd just never thought about it before." He explained, shrugging.

"Yeah?" I looked away, taking in all the other students going about their daily lives, free of heartbreak. "Well, ok, then. I'll see you."

I turned and walked away, trying to walk as fast as I could without drawing attention to my clenched jaw.

"Gen… Genevieve… Oh, come on, Gen: wait up."

"Why?"

"You're mad at me." He said, appearing at my side in a half jog.

"No."

"Yes." He insisted. "Sheesh. Slow down, Gen." He grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. "Hang on… Look: I'll go to the dance with you. Will that make you happy?"

"Not anymore." I said honestly.

Tyler raised his eyes to the sky in exasperation. "Geeeen."

"That's my name." I replied. "Don't wear it out."

"Look, it's just… it'll be weird, you know?" He looked at my desperately, still holding my arm.

"What? What'll be weird?"

Tyler shrugged his backpack further onto his shoulders. "Well, I'm taking your sister to prom."

"You're what?" I asked skeptically. "Since when?"

"Well, I asked her to spring dance and she was busy." He pointed out.

"And she offered to go to prom with you?" I looked away as the warning bell rang. "You're going to be late."

"No. But of course she'd go to prom with me." Tyler said simply. I looked back into his confidant face and raised an eyebrow, feeling irritated and sick.

"Good luck with that." I said, finally pulling away. What an idiot.

"Go to spring dance with me." He called after, watching me powerwalk away.

"You're going to be late, Tyler."

"Geeeeeen."

"Go jump in a ditch, Tyler." I yelled over my shoulder.

"But I'm laaate for claaaass."

I laughed and glanced back as I reached my class. "Snooze, you lose, Crowley."

He grinned as I waved goodbye.

...

I spent most of Government pouting. When I went to lunch, I continued in the same vein, staring at my tray and moving food around as my teammates and friends chattered away.

"Gen?"

"Hey, Cass."

"I know you're in the depths of despair and everything, but you should look around." She said, her tone confidential even thought everyone else was nodding in agreement and giving me knowing faces.

"Oh, what now?" I groaned, swinging around to give the cafeteria a once over.

"Wait for _iiiiiiiiit_." Annalise called, her tone mimicking a sports announcer.

"Wait for…"

What.

No.

What.

No!

No, no, no, no!

"What's that, Genny?" Liz asked: I was mouthing words helplessly as everyone snickered at the look on my face.

"What the f***?" I exclaimed, my voice so loud that several people at other tables turned to stare at me in horror.

My table burst into laughter and across the cafeteria a certain young man looked over my sister's shoulder and met my eyes with an amused look. I saw him look back to Isabella and mutter something, saw her shake her head, and finally realized my mouth was hanging open and everyone in the area was now staring at either me or them.

Attempting to gain control of myself, I turned back to the table and stared bloody murder down at my hamburger. I can't even get Tyler flippin Crowley and Bella simpers in and steals a fricking Cullen. And Tyler, for that matter. And Mike. And Eric. And that one dude who stares at her in Gym. And probably Jacob Black. And… I frowned. Was that it? I was forgetting someone, wasn't I?

"You still with us, Swan?" Annalise asked, a bit kinder.

"No. I am in the middle of a vow."

"A vow?"

"I am swearing off boys." I explained, stabbing my hamburger with a knife.

"I'll join you." Anna May muttered, looking over at a couple of freshmen at the next table who were lost in giggles from seeing a girl say the f-word.

Liz, who was dating a college freshmen, just shrugged and pulled my tray away from me. "If you would have asked Tyler sooner, this wouldn't have happened." She said.

"You asked out Tyler?" Annalise demanded.

"No. Just to the dance." I explained. I looked down at my plate. "And when was I supposed to have done that earlier?" Liz opened her mouth and I found I didn't want to hear it. "Never mind. I need to take off."

"Gen…"

"I'll see you at practice."

I turned and walked out, not bothering to look back at my idiot sister.

I'd see _her _in gym.

...

Author's note:

Ok, another short chapter and I'm annoyed because I want to publish another Jacob chapter (I have some written) but I can't, as tempted as I am, just throw him in to other chapters. I tried but its really obvious shoehorning because he and Gen aren't really friends and because he wasn't in the first book... So if I get a good response I might try to throw up another chapter (which also has no Jacob) so that we can get to Chapter 6 next week, which is the beach which has Jacob. I'm really liking all the comments and advice I've been getting so I would like to get more into things faster, I'm just not sure about speeding up my usual Thursday post schedule for one week is a good idea.

Thanks a TON for the comments! You guys are awesome!


	5. Chapter 5

I was sitting in the bleachers, legs drawn up to my chest and arms hugging them there, everyone buzzing past me as I wondered if I should let Tyler take me to the dance and if that was still an option. Meanwhile, I watched for Isabella and wondered what she would be willing to tell me.

"Hey, Swan."

I looked up to see Mike Newton coming toward me. He looked to be in the same mood.

"Hey. What's up?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "Bella went home."

I felt a little blip of guilt starting to well up. "What? Why? Is she ok?"

"Blood testing. Apparently she faints at the sight of blood." Mike sighed and I knew this was not the whole story.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. And guess who drove her home." Mike's face was pinched with dislike. "Edward Cullen."

"Cullen?" I let my feet drop to the ground and spread my hands in disbelieving irritation. "But he hated her! It was hate at first sight! I saw it! You saw it!"

"The guy is nuts, Gen." He shook his head again. "Mental."

"Birds of a feather." I muttered, growing angry with my sister again.

"Yeah, but let her know I told you, ok?" Mike asked. "She wanted you to know where she was."

"Good." I snapped. "That'll be a very useful trait for when I finally decide to kill her." But really that simple fact was already starting to cool my anger, or at least to drop it back down to its normal level of confused frustration. I was ok with this: I still had Cullen to freak out at later. I frowned: was he in my Spanish? No… No, I'd have to wait until English tomorrow.

I sighed and jumped up.

Only basketball could cheer me up in mood like this.

Luckily, that's what we were playing.

I had one or two more classes after that and all I could think about were Tyler and Edward. By the time practice got out, I was pretty hyper and ended up leading the whole team in tone deaf rendition of 'We Will Rock You' after Annalise gave us the info for our game the next Thursday. I hummed it all the way to the car at which point I pulled out my cell and found a text from Tyler.

I stared at the little letters of the notification, hunching over to protect the small screen from the rain. My phone didn't tell me any of what was said, just a little script with '1 Message from Tyler C.' popping up on my tiny background.

Oh, no. Ooooh, no. He hates me. He's telling me he hates me. I paused and bit my lip…. Or he realized he's in love with me. I smiled and gave a small laugh as I closed my phone. It was both too scary to read right now and nicer to have the chance to daydream about what he could say. I'd open it at home.

I climbed in the car and tossed my stuff in the passenger seat with a grunt, pulling down the mirror to check that I didn't look too hideous after my quick rinse in the gym showers. Whether it was likely that I'd see anyone on my way home wasn't really relevant: I just liked to look my best, I guess. As it was I found Austin Marks glancing at me through my rear window just in time to awkwardly catch my eye.

I looked down immediately and, distracted with trying to act like I hadn't just been spying on one of Tyler's teammates, picked up my phone to mess with. The notification popped up again but before I could absorb this and throw my phone away again, Austin was knocking on my window.

I rolled it down a crack: I wasn't _quite_ fond enough of rain to let it in my car.

"Hey." I said. It came out with a hint of question.

"You going?"

"What?"

He smiled awkwardly. "We're trying to get a count for the beach… for food and stuff. Transportation. Are you coming?"

I stared at him for a second and then rolled my window down a bit more. "Beach? Food? What are you talking about, Marks?"

"Tyler said you were one of the people he texted." He looked pointedly down at the phone in my hand.

"Oh." I stared down at it. "I was literally just about to read that." I lied.

"Oh… well, LaPush. Saturday. We're getting the gang together." Austin shrugged casually: he was a weirdly chill dude. And since when was I part of his 'gang'? Had I ever talked to him without Tyler?

"Oh. I'll have to talk to my boss. But I'd guess I can come." I offered a tentative smile.

"Cool." Austin ruffled his sandy blonde hair and gave me a nod. "See ya later, Swan."

"Um. Yeah. Ok. I'll let you guys know." I said, taken aback. "Bye, Austin."

"Bye." He turned away and started to walk off, making his way carefully past my side mirror.

I looked down and fiddled with my keys, finally finding the right one and starting my car just in time for another knock on my window.

"Yeep?" I asked, not looking up. I hadn't bothered to close it.

"Hi, Genevieve."

"Holy cripes!" I yelped, knocking a knee against the steering wheel as I jumped in surprise. I turned to glare up at my good friend Dick. Also known as Edward Cullen. "What do you want?"

"Just checking on you." He said smoothly, glancing over at the school across the empty parking lot.

"Yeah? Where's my sister?" I asked, a bit rudely.

"Fine." He said, smiling slightly.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "_Where's_ my sister?"

"I brought her home. Alice and I were just driving past from dropping off her truck." He added the last part as I began to frown, reading on my face that I'd realized it was ridiculously late for him to be at school.

"What do you want, Cullen?"

"Are you going to the beach on Saturday?" He asked.

I stared at him in dumbfounded irritation. Why the hell did he care?

"That's none of your beeswax, Edward." And stay away from my sister. She's weird enough as it is.

He was frowning at me now, squinting with that nearsighted look again. "Are you going?" He asked again.

I gave him my best exasperated teen girl look and rolled my eyes. "Yes. Edward. I am. Going. _Tothebeach_. Why."

He opened his mouth and for a second I could have sworn he was going to tell me. Then he shook his head and gave me a disarmingly attractive smile. "Just trying to decide if it's worth going." He said.

Oh, yeah right.

"Is Bella going?" I would have thought that would have decided it.

"Yes." He sighed. "Mike invited her."

"Mike, huh." I said. And then, because I thought saying something nice might make him more willing to leave me alone, I added. "Not much competition if that's what you're worried about. But I'll keep Bella distracted."

"Oh." He seemed pleased at the thought and surprised to be. "Thanks."

"That doesn't mean I'm rooting for you." I pointed out.

"No. I know." He smiled slightly as he pulled away, turning to head back to his car in some other deserted area of the parking lot. I barely heard his next words, only catching them as I leaned to the side to close the window:

"I'm not either."

What?

…

When I got home, I was greeted by the sight of Isabella lying in wait for me on the couch, a copy of Macbeth raised ready for use as a weapon should I disagree with whatever was about to come out of her mouth.

"Yes?" I asked tiredly. I wasn't really in the mood to talk. What with being rejected by Tyler and talking to Cullen and all.

She stood up and walked over to me before she spoke, her voice hushed. "Don't tell Charlie." She begged, eyes on the kitchen door.

"I really could not care less but I feel obligated to ask…" I dumped my things at the foot of the couch and landed with a thwump in the spot she'd been occupying. "Don't tell him what?"

Bella came to lean over the back of the couch. "That I was sick. And that Edward."

"Ok." I yawned. "I won't tell Dad that Edward."

"I'm serious, Gen." Bella said.

"And I'm not." I said. "But you're secrets safe with me. Hurray." I closed my eyes. "Speaking of…"

"Yes?" Bella's voice came from nearer the kitchen now.

"He's not going to the beach?" I asked, fighting back a yawn.

"No…" She said uncertainly. I opened my eyes and twisted awkwardly as I tried to see her face but she had fled before I could turn. She sounded thoughtful, like there was something more to this thrilling tale of Edward and the 'not visiting the beach'. Ugh, girls and their first boyfriends. And boys and their first girlfriends for that matter, I thought as I remembered Paul again.

I frowned: when had I been thinking about Paul? Oh, right Jacob.

"Hey, Is." I called. I heard her coming out of the kitchen. "You see Jacob since you been back?"

"Before you, actually." She told me. "They brought the truck up."

"The monster, you mean." I grumbled. "I can't believe you were going to take that to Seattle."

"Mmm." Bella replied.

"My car should be ten times better for that." I babbled on, trying to keep her in the room but not really wanting to talk about anything we actually had in common—such as Tyler, for one thing. "Though it's still a bit of clunker. Honestly, you'd be better if you could borrow someone else's car. Most girls won't need them, right? With the dance and all? And you could-"

"It's fine, Gen." Bella said. She sounded embarrassed: was it because I kept trying to take care of her?

"Oh." I said. I looked down at my hands and frowned, running a finger over the small scar on my wrist. "Yeah."

"Want some dinner?" Isabella asked.

"Yes!" I declared, jumping off the couch to emphasize my enthusiasm at her willingness to forgive my nosiness. I knew I would be angry at her again within three or four minutes, but it was another thing to have her annoyed with me.

You never want your cook to be miffed with you, that's what I always say.

...

...

AUTHOR'S NOTE!

Man, nobody even asked about me updating sooner! But I got lots of AWESOME comments so I might throw chapter 6 up this weekend so ya'll can get your Jacob fix. I know he's not in this chapter, but next chapter? Yes! He's there! He talks and everything!

SO

IrisRainbowWolf: Thanks! I really wanted to have a bit more drama in my love plot... I also thought it helped Gen avoid being Mary Suish. Hope you like the update!

leiatemperance: I feel like a jerk because I focused more on reading your second review and didn't see the Jacob request :( Ok, I will try to get it published this weekend. Also! Books I like: the ones you listed, Divergent I've read, Percy Jackson series (haven't read the Olympian series yet), some classics like Up A Road Slowly, Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, Gerald Morris' Squire's Tale is definitely one of my favorites. Have to keep thinking for more: I have a pretty long list of books I enjoy. Also, the fact that you liked this enough to make an account made my day. You rock!

January Lily: Thanks for all the help! Now WRITE. So I can return the reviews! (And read your story. That too.)

chocolatechipcookielover: Thanks for the comment: I'd actually been on the fence about whether to include Gen in that little get together, but because you asked for it I tried it out and it's actually one of my favorite chatpers (aside from the Jacob stuff I've written.)

...

And againg, thanks for the comments: it's actually happened twice now that I've had an idea, dismissed it because I thought people might not like it, and then had people ask for it. So keep commenting! And if you feel uncomfortable doing that, message me! And if you make a banner, let me know! I'll put it on my profile. It's a bit too empty right now.


	6. Chapter 6

"So you guys _are_ dating, right?" I asked Isabella at breakfast the next morning. It had occurred to me that a guy and girl hanging out together didn't necessarily mean anything. Stupid Tyler.

"Who's 'you guys'?" Bella asked a bit too innocently, dumping the last bits of scrambled egg on my plate and glancing through the kitchen door toward the front of the house.

"Dad is gone. And you and Edward." I stabbed the table with an accusatory finger. "You two are dating now, right?"

"He doesn't feel that way about me." Bella shrugged and turned to stare gloomily out the window.

"Good." I said flatly. She turned to me with widening eyes. "He's no good." I explained.

"What do you mean?" My sister mumbled. She didn't look too surprised.

"Well, I don't know what his deal is now." I told her. "But I saw that look he gave you. The 'stabbed by a pencil' look? And if he liked you now, that makes him more crazy, not less."

"He's not crazy." She said. And she did seem certain. I pursed my lips and stared at her, puzzled, until she got up to cram the dishes into the sink. From the misery on her face, I was becoming more and more certain that telling her about Edward's visit to my car would be a bad thing. Bad as in encouraging her, I mean. The last thing my mopey sister needed was a bipolar boyfriend.

"I'll see you later." Isabella walked out the door, seeming to realize I wouldn't have anything nice to say after that.

I just grunted.

…

The rest of the day was pretty good. Edward 'the Dick' Cullens was gone, along with his brother(whom I nicknamed Emmett 'the Buttface' Cullen during a staring match with his girlfriend when she caught me looking at their table). Tyler was trying to be nice to me, though I wasn't sure if we were going to the dance together. And I didn't have to talk to Bella as Annalise was going to the beach and invited me to sleepover at her house. All in all, falling asleep to _Airplane_ was a pretty good end to a pretty good day.

The sun splitting my head in half as a wakeup call was therefore all the more irritating.

By the time Annalise and I had made it to the parking lot of the Newton's family store, Annalise and I had had two arguments, one of which involved whether or not we had accents and the other one whether _The Taming of the Shrew_ was a play within a play. When Austin and Ben walked over to greet us I answered with a grunt and Annalise went to nap in the back of Newton's van. I joined her and, with a welcome bit of caffeine from Conner Rodigg, the two of us were soon almost human again.

Bella was the one of last to show and we drove off soon after she arrived, her way up front with Newton and Jess and me squashed in back with Lauren and Annalise. There was also a couple other girls, all the boys having joined Tyler and Lee in their cars.

"You guys are going to make a driftwood fire again, right?" I asked one of the guys, I didn't know his name.

"Already working on it." Ben called cheerfully.

"Awesome, Ben! You rock!" I laughed and walked over to join him, asking him about the different colors that might pop up and ignoring everyone else. Ben, Angela, and Tyler were the only ones of Bella's friends I could talk to when I was this grumpy. Annalise was now sleeping in Lee's minivan, growling at him as he tried to wake her up.

When I came back, I sat on one of the empty logs and shivered once as a wind chilled through my mist soaked clothes. I opened my mouth to jokingly yell at Ben to hurry up but Mike had started lighting smaller branches on fire to entertain Isabella and I felt it unnecessary to bring Jessica's evil eye anywhere near me. I shivered again and pulled at the summer dress I'd optimistically thrown on over a swimming suit. Had I remembered to pack a sweatshirt in my overnight bag? I thought I had—

"Want this?"

"Aaaargh!" I growled, finding a thick sweatshirt suddenly draped over my head. I heard a deep laugh as I managed to tear it off and turned to glare up at Tyler.

"Well?" He asked.

"Well what." I demanded.

"Do you want it?" He repeated.

I stared at him, my mouth forming a slight pout. I stared at him a little longer. I looked away and back again. Then, finally…

"Yes."

He laughed again. "That's what I thought." He teased, jumping easily over my log to sit beside me. I pulled the sweatshirt over my arms and stared at him, wondering what had gotten into him.

I glanced away for a second to laugh at one of Mike's jokes and he called me back with a tap on the shoulder. "What's up?"

"I've been meaning to ask you." Tyler said, lowering his voice to be more serious. "Has your dad told you anything more about those attacks?"

"My dad?" I asked. "What?"

"You know. Those weird animal attacks that the newspaper's 've been going on about." He insisted. I looked at him blankly, my brow starting to furrow. "Your dad has to know more about it, right?"

"If he does, he hasn't told me." I muttered back, glancing around. No one was paying attention to us-Lauren was being a bit too obvious about not paying attention to us—We were isolated enough on our lumpy log, the ends big and rough and twisted, that no one was close enough to hear anything we said if were quiet about it.

"Huh." Tyler replied.

I waited for a moment and then my patience broke. "So you gonna tell me or what?"

"Oh." Tyler laughed. "Sure." He leaned in further, dropping his voice to the kind of hushed tone reserved for horror stories. I had to lean in to hear him. "It started a couple weeks back, I think. At least, that's the first body they found."

"It's been _killing _people?" I whispered, pulling his sweatshirt tighter around me.

He nodded. "There've been no survivors, that's the problem: the only clue toward what it is has been the bodies."

"Man…" I breathed. I glanced back at the forest that lined the beach. There was so much uncivilized land around Forks, who knew what could be hiding there? I shuddered. "What are the bodies like then? I mean, it's definitely not human?"

Tyler looked at the dread on my face and took the opportunity to wrap a comforting arm around my waist. "No. No, there was something about… One of the bodies was crushed, practically, I heard. And they all are messed up: bitten and bled out…"

"That's horrible." I glanced at the woods again and then pushed myself closer to Tyler. I was remembering now, remembering the worry in my dad's voice a couple weeks ago. Remembering how odd he's sounded when he told me to go straight home and call him when I got there. It had been unlike him and he hadn't mentioned it since but… But if he'd been worried… Who knew where the thing could pop up next? "And it's around Forks? Like in these woods?"

"It might have moved on." Tyler admitted. Then he shook his head. "Or it might have learned to hide its victims."

"Dude! Tyler!" I bumped shoulders with him in playful anger, hiding the jolt of fear I'd felt. "Don't say that!"

"What?" He laughed, his voice getting louder again. "That it could be right behind us? Waiting for one us to wander off?"

"Gaaaah!" I covered my ears and knew that people were looking over at us now. "Jerk!"

"Why's he a jerk, Swan?" Someone asked.

"Because there are monsters waiting to eat us if—Oof." Tyler laughed as I elbowed him in the ribs. "Sorry." He said with a shrug. I playfully slapped his shoulder and he gave an exaggerated wince before laughing again. "Sorry! Sorry!"

"You'd better be." I said, jabbing a finger in his face and glaring dangerously.

"Hey weren't you guys going for a walk or something?" Lauren interrupted, smiling like it hurt her to do so.

"What? Who?" I glanced around and saw Mike and Lee nodding as they got up.

"We're going hiking," Mike said, turning away from giving my sister his puppy eyes as she considered going with him.

"In the _woods?"_

"Yeah, aren't you afraid of the—" I jabbed Tyler with my elbow again to stop him. He just started laughing at me again.

"We'll be in a group, Gen." Lee promised. "And besides', it's the middle of the day and it's sunny."

"I'm _sorry._" I said, dripping with sarcasm. "I keep forgetting that we don't live in a horror movie and therefore everything is always alright and bad things in the newspapers never attack."

"Shut up, Gen." Annalise grumbled as she stumbled over.

"We're just heading up to the tide pools and then straight back." Mike insisted.

"I'm not coming either way." I told him. "I've seen those things a million times."

This was actually true: my dad had only recently stopped dragging me up to the Res when he came to visit Billy and the tide pools were one of about five things to do when it wasn't sunny.

Several of the girls and Tyler and Eric decided to stay. I was undecided until Bella agreed to go and then, curious as I was as to what made my clutzy sister want to go _hiking_ of all things, I decided to hang around with our lazier friends.

The hikers left, while Tyler and I shouted advice we'd learned from watching too many horror movies. The two other remaining boys joined in and left me and the girls in giggles as they gave us various stories as to how everyone who'd just left was going to die. As their footsteps faded we moved on to wondering what the killer animal actually was and were getting into the area of what animals might have escaped from the Seattle Zoo when there was a loud crack.

As the crack faded away in echoes, we were left in an abrupt and tense silence, all of us peering into the woods as we wondered what had made the noise.

Another crack, this one obviously a piece of wood breaking, rang out from what seemed like right behind me. I screamed and jumped forward, closely followed by a wide eyed Tyler as we scrambled past the fire and closer to our friends. It was about then that we made out the sound of several boys laughing their heads off.

As they stumbled out of the woods, holding their sides, my eyes focused on one happy grin.

"Jacob Black!" I yelled. "You ass!"

"Sorry, Gen." He laughed.

"But really," Paul said, appearing at my side. "you guys set us up perfectly."

"Oh, I should have known it would be your idea." I growled, glaring up at him. I knew he was over me: I also knew that messing with me was something he would never be able to resist.

"You're not too mad, right, Gen?" Jacob said, bouncing into the clearing like a hyperactive puppy and giving me his giant grin.

"I'll hate you forever." I said with a haughty sniff but I was joking and he just laughed at me.

"Going to introduce us to your friends?" Lauren interrupted snootily. She had somehow managed to edge her way between Tyler and me. Ugh.

I glanced around and realized that I actually did know about half of the LaPush kids. With a shrug I moved away from the Forks kids, leaving the battle with Lauren for another day. Turning back to face her and Tyler, I began to dramatically point at the couple kids I actually knew.

"Paul." I said first, to get it over with. He gave a dramatic bow and then shoved past Tyler to get to the food some of the older Res kids and Jess had started to set out. "Kate. Um, Kim? Kim. Hey, Kim. Sam?" He gave me a grunt. "Embry. Joy." And of course. "This kid." I finished, pointing to Jacob.

He laughed and shrugged it off. "Nice to see you too, Genevieve. How's the car?"

"Still running and still ugly." I told him. "How's your… um… bike?"

His smiled faded a little and I realized that he had taken it as a dig at his age. I allowed him to keep thinking it: _if only_ I was that clever.

"Fine." He said, his tone a little less friendly.

I glanced around and realized that most of the others had wondered off to grab some food: Tyler was over there with Lauren, though he was glancing over at us… I fought down a scowl. So jealousy was the way to go? Not really my style, Crowley.

"Jacob." I said, feeling slightly bad, if only for a second. "Thanks again for your help with…" I left my mouth hanging open, hands raised as I helplessly looked for way to describe the precious heap of junk that was my transportation.

"With your car?" Jacob asked drily.

"Yes, that!" I said thankfully. "And with teaching me."

Jacob nodded. "I could show you some more stuff." He offered. "I know the truck won't have much, but I'm working on—"

"Maybe." I interrupted, trying not to sound mean but having about enough of entertaining him. "For now, we should probably grab some burgers before your friends start in on their fourths."

"I am only on thirds!" Paul insisted through a mouthful of food, his posture tensing up as he readied to lose his temper.

"Shut up, Paul." I said, whisking by him and ignoring him as he began to choke. "Eric. Where are the plates?"

I spent the next ten minutes hiding behind Tyler to avoid Jacob trying to ask me polite questions and Paul trying to yell at me about food. By the time the boy magnet that was my twin appeared, I was seconds away from going off on a hike by myself, monsters or no monsters. Luckily, Jacob went over to talk with her and Paul soon went off to the beach with some of the other guys and I had one moment of peace.

"You know, it's too bad none of the Cullens could come up."

Just _one _moment of peace.

"Why's that, Lauren?" I snapped, seeing her try to sidle Tyler away from me again.

Tyler glanced between us awkwardly, sensing the age old tension of a love triangle with an indecisive boy. Bella's laugh rang out and the three of us turned to look at her, before Lauren and I both took a quick peak at Tyler. Grr. More like a love square then.

"You know Bella, too, Jacob?" Lauren called out sweetly. I was too busy reading the look Jacob was giving Bella: maybe a love hourglass? With Tyler in the middle and… No… that wouldn't work…

"We've sort of known each other since I was born." Jacob said with a laugh, smiling at Bella before waving at me.

"Played house and everything." I commented, mainly trying to draw Lauren's attention back to me and Tyler. But, no, her jealousy was focused on Isabella now.

"Bella, I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?"

"You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" I turned to see Sam looking up from his fifth hamburger with a stern frown.

Lauren turned and gave him her bubbly fake smile. "Yes, do you know them?"

"The Cullens don't come here." He said stiffly. He turned back to his conversation, leaving a brief awkward silence.

Tyler filled it by asking Lauren and me what music we were coming up with for prom and when I looked back for Isabella and Jacob, they had disappeared. The conversation went downhill from there, what with Lauren bringing out the side of Tyler that I didn't always like. Gradually I felt myself shifting out of the conversation and finally just took a step back and away without them even noticing I'd left. I had my hands in the pocket of Tyler's sweatshirt and my head and shoulders slumped as I moved around mopily, talking to whoever happened to be nearby.

After about ten minutes of this, Annalise came back with Lee and two of his friends I didn't know and they entertained me with a story of some seagull flying at their heads. I was actually starting to laugh when I happened to turn back toward Tyler and Lauren at just the right moment to catch his eye as she planted a big kiss on his cheek and he returned her enthusiastic hug.

"Gen?" Annalise asked.

I turned back to realized that someone had just asked me a question about whether every animal around here was known for attacking humans. I managed a smile and a noncommittal answer, then claimed to want a quick look at the beach. Waving off Annalise and another girl as they offered to join me, I made my way quickly toward the water, brushing past Tyler without even looking at him. I sped up when I hit the sand, desperate to get out of sight before the tears started: I wasn't even sure if they were angry or hurt tears but I could feel them welling up, starting to blind me as my feet caught in the wet sand.

Clouds were gathering but I didn't really miss the sun: in Forks, the sun doesn't really belong, not really. It's always felt more like a broken promise to me: a glimpse of summer and then that glimpse flees leaving rain and cold and dark.

When I was far enough down the beach that I could be sure no one would find me by accident, I sat down in the sand and pulled off my flip flops, dabbing my toes in the freezing water and trying to blink away the tears.

I told myself it was fine if he didn't like me. He couldn't help that, could he? But why did it have to be Lauren. That bitch Lauren. He thought she was more desirable then me? Uck, and my boring sister! Was that what all the boys were looking for? A conniving bitch or a shy little blob of nothing? I winced back a little at the thought, knowing that was a bit mean and that Isabella wasn't that bad… that it wasn't her fault… But why?

Just… Just…

Why?

I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling it away from my face so that I could stare out at the nothingness of the water. I wiped my tears and nose on the sleeve of the sweatshirt and dipped it in the water to get rid of the evidence.

It might be better if Paul hadn't been my first boyfriend, if I could tell myself that if my first boyfriend had liked me then others like him would. But I had no desire for a repeat performance of all the temper tantrums we threw when we were together, no matter how much fun he'd been otherwise. I wanted someone better. Someone nicer. I wanted Tyler.

I turned my dejected gaze down to the sand and began drawing a squiggly design between my legs, distracting myself with a pattern of nonsense. Boys. It was always boys. Stupid, stupid-

"Genevieve?"

Oh, come on: him?

"Gen?"

And her.

I gave my face one last swipe and stood shakily, changing from sad to defensive and bad tempered. "Isabella, Jacob." I greeted them half-heartedly, wiping wet clingy sand from my soaking wet butt. "Hey."

"What are you doing over here?" Bella asked.

"I could ask you the same question." I retorted, trying desperately to think of _something._

"Just sharing the old Quileute stories." Jacob said cheerfully, his eyes looking over my face with a hint of concern.

Oh, leave me alone. "Well, it looks like we're getting ready to leave so… Isabella needs to start coming back." I lied easily, not having to fake the impatient tone. "I had just sat down to rest: you guys really went far."

"Sorry about that." Jacob said and his voice was so sincere, just so nice….

Sometimes, when I'm in a bad mood and feeling down about myself, kindness is the last thing I want. I felt the lies and mask I'd been solidifying immediately start to crumble.

Isabella didn't notice: she was looking up the beach. I glanced around, still working on hiding the tears, and found Mike and Jessica heading down toward us.

"There you are, Bella." Mike called enthusiastically. But he was basically glaring over at Jacob.

Did he not even see me here? Do I just not exist?

I turned away quickly to see Jacob and Bella being very careful not to look at me.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Jacob wondered.

"No, definitely not." Bella whispered.

I laughed at the tone in her voice but it came out more of a choked sob. Damn it! Why? Why did Jacob have to be nice?

"So when I get my license…" Jacob started, still avoiding me.

"Your license?" I asked, trying to be normal.

"My temps." He told me, turning back and keeping his voice neutral.

"You should come visit us." Bella said, looking to me for my agreement. I didn't respond. "It could be just like old times." I smiled weakly: I could hear Mike and Jess arriving behind us and I had no desire to add to the rumors I'd already started by fleeing.

"Where have you been?" Mike demanded, still focusing his words on Bella. I gritted my teeth and felt my hands turning into fists inside the giant sweatshirt sleeves.

"Jacob was just telling me some local stories." Bella said, watching as I crossed my arms, tucking my fists into my elbows and staring at the sand. "Gen said we're leaving soon?"

"Yeah." Mike said, seeming to notice me for the first time. "Didn't realize she'd come to get you… but it looks like it's about to rain so we're packing up."

"Alright we're coming." Bella promised.

"Yeah." Jacob said quickly. I saw him glance from my narrowed eyebrows to trembling chin. "You go on ahead. I'm just gonna catch up with Genevieve, ok?"

"Going to tell her some of your _scary_ stories?" Bella teased him as she walked away.

I opened my mouth to snap that I'd had enough of that from Tyler but found myself fighting down another rush of tears. "Tell Annalise to save me a seat next to her?" Was all I said to my sister.

"We'll be right up." Jacob promised. They were already walking away.

Jacob looked after them and when he judged they were far enough away he finally looked straight at me. "So who do I need to punch?"

I burst out laughing.

"Thank—thank you, Jacob." I said finally, still short of breath. "It's been a bad couple of weeks."

"Yeah?" He said. He still looked serious, ready to defend me: like a puppy growling at thunder.

"But no need for violence." I told him, still smiling shakily.

"If you think that," Jacob said with a grin. "You're clearly not watching the right movies."

"Oh?" I started walking, following the many footsteps back to the firepit. "So Die Hard, Boondock Saints, Pulp Fiction… those aren't teaching me the right lessons?" I asked sarcastically.

"Seriously?" Jacob said. "You like those movies?"

"I like most movies." I said with a shrug. "They're in the top hundred."

Jacob snorted. "Then what's the top ten?"

"Oh, you know…" I had no idea. I tended to only watch what happened to be on tv. "It changes."

"Huh." Jacob said, looking down at the sand as we walked. I looked past him, over the ocean. It was working up into a storm. "Genevieve?"

"Huh?" I brought my focus back on him.

"You know… you know that animal attack… It's nothing you need to be afraid of. And I'm sorry we scared you, it was just—"

"You know I would do the same thing if given the opportunity. Besides, you were doing it to Isabella, too right? Filling her head with the scary tales of the haunted forest?"

"Be—" He started to correct me and then seemed to remember that I was her sister. "Sort of. Vampire stories really. She seemed interested." He looked distracted for a second, looking a bit longingly up the beach where the others had disappeared. Then he turned to shrug at me. "They're just the usual legends though. Except for the part about… Oh, but you probably agree with your dad." He said, looking embarrassed.

"I don't know why you're making that face." I said, my tone a bit scathing. "I have no idea what you're thinking so I can't possibly be mad."

"True." He said. "But it's probably best to leave it alone."

"Fine." I said, thinking I could just ask Isabella. But it was hard to think who it would be more of drag to interrogate: Jacob or my sister. Jacob, I decided. He was the one who had started me crying again.

We walked on in silence for a bit. I was starting to calm down but still feeling more heavy hearted then I could ever remember being, at least since my parents' divorce. When we got to the last stretch, close enough to hear a car start, Jacob stopped and reached out to grab my arm, pulling back when I flinched away.

"It'll work out in the end, Genevieve." He promised. "Whatever happened, you'll figure it out."

"I don't think I have quite as much trust in myself as you do." I replied drily. "Can you tell I've been… Is my face ok?"

"Your eyes are a little red, but you can just say it was the wind." He said. "Feeling any better?"

I shrugged. "I'll see you later, Jacob."

"Yeah… Maybe I'll finally get up to one of your games… You're varsity right?"

"Yeah…" I said noncommittally: Jacob Black watching my games was the last thing I needed. "Not that it means much, not in Forks." I looked over the water again and felt a couple drops of rain hit my hair. "Oh, Forks." I sighed. I turned and started to walk up the slope, catching sight of the last couple people packing up.

"Bye, Genevieve." Jacob called.

I waved halfheartedly.

It was all I was willing to give him.

...

Author's note:

Hope you like it. Next chapter coming Thursday... Man, I can't wait to get to some actual romance! Grrr! Genevieve, grow up! Let me know what you think :)


	7. Chapter 7

When I got home, Dad was watching a game and cheering up a storm. I came in and sat on the couch, but it was his team, not mine, and I was too tired to get too into it. I did stick around til the end, going into the kitchen for snacks every couple of minutes (Bella hadn't made supper), and as the end game commentary started I ended up falling asleep on the couch again.

I woke up the next morning with an aching neck and rain pattering away outside. I could hear the sound of Bella messing around in the kitchen and I realized I was hungry, but my mood was still such that the idea of moving was fairly unappealing.

I groaned loudly.

"Gen?"

I groaned again.

I heard footsteps approaching and then Isabella's head popped over the back of the couch. "Dying?"

"Yes." I moaned piteously, sitting up to rub at my neck.

Bella looked like she was considering some further sarcastic comment but she just shrugged and told me there was cereal sitting out if I wanted it, but not much else. This did nothing to motivate me but as she made her way upstairs and started clacking away at her monster of a computer I knew that I was never going to fall back asleep.

With a sigh I pulled myself up off the couch and went to see if we still had the old microwavable bean bag from when I'd first gotten into working out but hadn't yet figured out my limits as far as muscle strain were concerned. After a couple minutes in the microwave I threw the bag around my neck and spent the next two minutes trying to find exactly the right place to soothe one stubbornly uncomfortable muscle.

As I went upstairs-deciding that the only thing that was going to help me was a couple of hours more sleep- I passed Bella's room. She was staring into the depths of her computer screen, leaning so far forward she was about to fall out of her chair. I frowned, curious what could be so fascinating to my quiet sister, and crept slowly into the room. It only took a few steps before I could see what she was skimming through, identified through several creepy pictures…

I crept out the way I'd come, resisting an eye roll only so that I didn't bump into any of her ugly furniture.

Vampires?

What, was she goth now?

I fell asleep giggling at the idea of clumsy Isabella in wedge heel goth boots.

…

I had to reject my goth theory, however, as Bella was ridiculously happy the next day. As I still was suffering from boy problems, having not seen Tyler again the day before, I was rather grumpy. I spent most of the day wandering around the house glaring out the windows and scaring the neighbors before my dad came home and kicked me out to practice hoops in the driveway while he cooked the fish he'd caught with my Mr. Clearwater.

I went to bed miserable, knowing that I was going to have to figure out a strategy by the time Pre-Calc rolled around and I was forced into an hour with Tyler. I woke up with no idea what I wanted and half a mind to play hookey before I saw it was sunny. If there was one thing I knew about the Cullens, it was that they would be hiking in the mountains with their creepy hot dad and I was _not_ about to miss an Edward free day. Plus we were still playing basketball in gym and Coach was bound to move on soon: he didn't really appreciate having to teach a sport all day only to have to coach it after school as well.

And so I rolled out of bed, picked out my favorite sleeveless dress—yet another reason to go to school on a sunny day—and stomped down the stairs to find that everyone else was already gone. Cursing under my breath, I headed back up the stairs, not quite sure why at first but eventually deciding that I just hated morning people and feeling like I was lazy for get up later than 6:30 in the morning.

I got to school as the bell rang and realized that I still had no idea what I was going to say to Tyler. Did I still want to go to the dance with him? Did I still want to be _friends_ with him? Was I overreacting? It was just a kiss on the cheek… But he hadn't looked uncomfortable. In fact, the look on his face had been… I was scowling deeply as I marched into English class and only realized halfway through that everyone was being extremely careful not to look at me: even my teacher, Miss Weskin.

Soon enough it was time for Pre-Calc and I felt sick enough that I was considering heading up to the nurse for a class. Would Tyler notice that? Did I want him to? I rubbed at my neck as I entered the class, sick of all the games I was playing with my own mind. Deciding to give myself more time, I chose a desk already surrounded by people and started doodling in my notebook. It didn't last long.

"Gen."

I kept my eyes on a doodle of a flower.

"What is it, Crowley?"

He leaned over, blocking the aisle because he couldn't reach me from the desk he'd chosen, kitty corner behind me.

"I gave Jess your number: she wanted to ask you about something." He told me. "She said she was going to text you before school."

"Mmm." I replied.

As I went back to doodling I realized that I was going to need to figure things out fairly quickly: it had only just occurred to me that the Spring Dance was that very Saturday. I pursed my lips and made a quick calculation; I had… what? Four and a half days to find out if I had a date or not? Yikes. Maybe the cold shoulder wasn't the best approach.

After class I followed Tyler out, but he was the one who turned and dragged me off to the side.

"Eeerrrrm." I said, not sure how I felt about his hand around my wrist.

"Ok." Tyler said, looking very serious. "We're friends."

"I… guess?" Where we? I frowned: it might be the easiest lie to go with. "Why?"

"Well." Tyler said, taking a deep breath between each word as he thought them out carefully. "I… Just… Thought… Dances are more fun with friends, right?" I just looked at him. "And you asked me as a friend. Basically. And I mean… your friends are my friends' friends. Cass is going with Sam, Lizzie's going with Austin. We might as well… we'll be together anyway, right? Cuz we're friends."

"I don't know." I said honestly. "I'm not sure if you said 'friends' enough times."

"Oh." He laughed nervously. "Well. Jess is inviting you to go dress shopping so I figured I should check in on whether you had a date yet because I'm going to buy tickets after lunch. And they're cheaper as a couple so I figured… yeah."

I blinked up at him: was he asking me if we were going? Or did he think I'd somehow found someone else? Because it seemed like the second. "Tyler?"

He took a breath, closed his eyes, and then he exchanged his nervous smile for a more confidant one. "Genevieve Swan." He said. "Are we going to the flipping Spring Dance together?"

"I think technically you did agree to that, yes." I replied coolly. In reality, I was mentally betting with myself on how long it would take before I was crying in a bathroom. The good money was that I wouldn't even make it to Saturday.

"Ok."

"We're late for class now, Crowley."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Oops."

I rolled my eyes. "Just go. Before Banner decides to give you detention."

"Right." Tyler said, wincing. "See you, Swan."

"Good-bye, genius." I said drily.

Aside from the tardy and a scolding, my day went on mildly boring. I didn't see Tyler again, didn't see Cullen, didn't talk to Isabella, found out we were starting badminton, played some basketball, got three texts from Jess rescheduling the dress shopping to tomorrow night to make room for a date, and went home to eat some leftover fish, finished a paper, and went to bed after texting Jess to tell me about her date when she had the chance. I was hoping Jess would have replied with something good by morning so I could be happy that _someone_ around here had a decent love life. Then again, she _was_ going out with Mike.

I think Jess's other friends must not have cells, because my phone had four texts when I woke up with all the details Jess could list without giving me real blackmail. I read through them in a tired squint, glanced out my little window at the rising sun, sent her back a smiley and a note that we'd talk more while shopping. Ha. As if she'd be talking about anything else now.

It was another warm day and I optimistically wore my second nicest summer dress, curling my hair and putting on the barest hint of perfume. One of my many theories on Tyler (one of which included him being a clone from outer space) was that he hadn't decided yet if he liked me or Lauren and I figured I might as well try to catch him now so that I'd have him when I made up my mind. Yes, girls can be as bad as boys. Sue me.

The rest of the day went ok. Didn't say much. Neither did anyone else: we were all too busy wondering at the idea of two nice days in a row. By the time our short, end of season practice ended, though, it was a bit cold, and when I went home to drop off my school stuff I ran inside to change into pants and a sweater.

As I changed, the back of my desk chair caught my eye: Tyler's sweatshirt was still sitting there, waiting to be washed of all evidence of both his act of chivalry and his douchiness. I frowned at it for a moment and then tossed it in the hamper.

"Mine now, sucker." I muttered.

I ran out to my waiting car as I texted Jessica that I was on my way, meaning to buy the most flattering dress very little money could buy.

...

Author's Note:

Shorty short chapter again and I reaaaaly like the next one so I'm planning on publishing that tomorrow or Sat. I'll reply to comments then. Hope you like!


	8. Chapter 8

I got to Port Angeles around 5:20 and practically ran into their one department store, desperate to get some girly girl time. They were already finishing up—Port Angeles didn't have much to offer—but Isabella and Angela had set aside some choices for me. I gave a quick opinion on the dress Jess was trying on, a gorgeous strapless black, and dashed into the stalls to try on the dark violet, low cut dress that Angela had laid out. It had a short skirt and a layer of tulle that swirled prettily around my knees as I jumped up and down trying to close the zipper.

Finally giving up on the purple, I tried on a dark blue of the same style and a white gown before finally settling on a cheap shiny black one with sparkles and a low back. I was saving the big bucks for prom, of course, but I was still pretty happy with what I'd been able to find. The others seemed to feel the same and we headed over for the accessories, Jess finally getting the chance to talk my ears off about Mike. I began to realize that no one else had been quite as enthusiastic as she'd wanted: Isabella tried, but she had been trying to avoid the guy for months now. Angela was a sweetheart, but that meant she didn't get into the nitty-gritty details as much. Lauren was inclined to be jealous of anything. Me? I love gossip and if you have a guy when I don't, all the more reason to get your advice. So I got to chat with Jess while Angela and Isabella had their own little tête-à-tête off by the shoes.

All in all, it was turning into a pretty nice evening.

After shopping Jess, Angela, and I walked back to the car, leaving Bella to wander after some bookshop. Isabella was looking kind of angsty so I hadn't argued when she insisted we didn't need to accompany her: it was flipping Port Angeles after all. The only town smaller would be Forks.

Ugh. I should have known better:

The three of us walked along the piers for a bit, looking at the water and getting a little bored. After about an hour of this, Angela was hungry so we headed over to the restaurant. We waited maybe another half hour, looking around and complaining about our stomachs. Finally, I got sick of it and gradually bullied the others into going in to order. I wasn't too hungry and ended up filling up on a salad and staring moodily out the window as they got their pasta.

"Where is she?" I muttered.

"Is she normally late?" Jess wondered. "You'd know better than us."

"Ha." I said. "Either way, though… she wanted one bookstore and there's nothing else here that could interest her, right?" I frowned. "Unless she ran into someone."

Angela looked worried. "Someone?"

"I meant like one of her crushes." I said. "You know, lost track of time flirting or whatever she does to get them all so… lovestruck." I rolled my eyes and stood up, unzipping my purse. "I'm going after her—and she can eat in the car, if this is what it's gonna be like. Ugh. Grab me some dessert to go?"

"Something chocolate?" Jess asked. She didn't seem to be taking our missing friend too seriously, at least. Maybe I was overreacting.

I smiled back. "Of course."

I made my way to the bookshop and then I stood for a moment, staring at it in disgust. I hadn't really been paying attention to where I'd been going, simply following the direction my sister had gone before I started to just take in the view, but now I was thinking of my sister and I was thinking that there was no way she'd gotten lost in thought in this junky place. With a sigh, I looked around as though I could somehow see which way she'd gone.

Instead I found Edward Cullen.

He glanced up at me as I found him, his face shadowed by the buildings. I had to squint a bit too see him properly—he was standing at the edge of the sunlight and the contrast hurt my eyes—but the look on his face was a little trapped and little sheepish, like I'd caught him somewhere embarrassing.

"Hey, Richard." I called. You know. Cuz he's a dick.

"Um…" He looked even more uncomfortable now, though he did manage a small confused smile. "It's Edward."

"Oh." I said, shrugging. "Sure."

He looked at me, considering. He glanced once behind him, though I couldn't see what he could possibly be looking at, and then he turned back to me. "What are you doing out here, Swan?"

"Oh, just wandering aimlessly." I said with a shrug. "You?"

He frowned at me, clearly frustrated. "Gen…"

I turned away, peering into the bookstore. Maybe there was a back. Maybe Isabella had found some vintage thing or one of those rare books you can only get in backcorner bookstores. Or on Amazon. I sighed deeply: sometimes I think my sister is a flipping Amish. No cell phone. No good computer.

"Actually, could you help me with something?" Edward interjected. He'd walked over to stand beside me and when I glanced up irritably he gave me a brilliantly handsome smile.

I fought off the shiver that fled down my spine. "What."

"I've…" Edward ducked his head, embarrassed, and then gave me the closest thing to puppy dog eyes his Greek god like face could ever reach. "Do you have Bella's cell number? She's in my biology and…"

"Bella doesn't have a cell." I grumbled. "Besides, couldn't you just ask me to tell her?" I snorted. "If I ever find her."

"Find her?" Edward asked politely. I looked over at him irritably: there was bit too much interest in his face. Jeez, he was such a creep.

"She's probably fine." I told him, turning back to peer into the bookshop. "Probably lying in the back of this lady's place, unconscious, with a broken leg and one of those sliding ladders lying on top of her."

My dickhead companion did not seem to find this funny.

"You're talking about the girl that almost died… what, a month ago?" He said soberly.

"What?" I pursed my lips as a bit of fog appeared on the glass before my face. "Oh, the truck. No, Bella's fine, d—dearie." Inwardly I winced. I really should have just said dickhead. "Literally everything is ready to maim her, but I'm pretty sure she's immortal. A bar fell on her when she was two: if you didn't talk to her for more than-say, three seconds?-You'd never know she had brain damage."

"You're not worried." Edward replied, gritting his teeth as he glared at me. I caught the look out of the corner of my eye and had to fight to keep from running: it was twice as bad as the look he'd given Bella way back on her first day of school. "She's your sister."

"It's Port Angeles." I snapped back, offended. I turned to jab a finger at his chest. "And I don't see what I can possibly do."

"Look for her!" He insisted, his long thin hands sweeping back to gesture at the sunlit road behind him.

"Don't you think I would?" I stormed back. "If I wasn't just as likely to get lost? I mean, you can't find someone in a city if you're on foot and you don't know even where they went."

Edward stared at me, considering. Finally he relented his glare. "Is there somewhere else she'd want to go?" He asked carefully, like I was an angry bear or something.

"Looking for a better bookshop, probably." I shrugged.

"Well…" Edward considered this. "Well, I thought I saw her earlier going that way…" He pointed south. "So, want a ride? We can see if she's down there."

"Yeah, why not." I said grumpily. It was the last thing I wanted, but my car was about half an hour away at this point. "Lead the way, Cullen."

"Just come on." He sighed.

We walked quickly over to his Volvo and he went for the passenger door. I was confused for a moment, but he was trying to be a gentleman and was now holding the door open for me, waiting impatiently for me to get in his dang car. With a shrug I readjusted my purse, mentally remembering where I'd stowed my pepper spray. Who knew if Edward was the one responsible for Isabella's disappearance? I glanced over at him as I moved into the car. Who knew what this jerk was capable of?

There was a weird flash of some unidentifiable emotion on Cullen's face and then he shut the door. Walking quickly, he strolled over to the driver's side and slid gracefully into the car. "Buckle up." He said quietly, fetching his key.

"Right." I said.

He didn't bother to put his on until he noticed me staring at him quizzically.

We left without another word.

..

We drove around for quite a while, muttering to ourselves about where she might be. He seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me, because he kept turning down streets I noticed as being more attractive or more shopping friendly than others. There wasn't much luck though.

I was starting to feel sick as we went back to the restaurant and then back into the city: the sun was setting and Isabella was lost in the city. If she'd managed that in the daylight, what was she going to get up to now? My hands began to wring each other in my lap and I was biting my lip quite hard by the time Edward noticed I was upset.

"I'm sure she's fine, Gen." He said distractedly, eyeing the sunset with a bit of regret in his expression. "Maybe we can get out and walk a bit, ask if anyone's seen her?"

"True." I said. "People do seem to—"

"NO!"

"WHAT THE F***!"

But he wasn't listening. He was speeding thoughtlessly down the street, his face frozen with fury. It was all I could do to hang on to my seat, terrified and completely confused, as he looked around frantically, almost blindly, for a sign of my sister. I stared at him, pretty sure he'd gone mad.

And why did he even freaking care?

Edward's eyes narrowed and I knew he'd decided where he wanted to go.

People honked at us as he raced and I heard his phone buzzing, buzzing, buzzing. Who could want to talk to him so badly? All I wanted was to get away from him. I cringed at a particularly wild turn and he finally remembered I was there.

"Bad part of town." He explained through gritted teeth. "Just realized, it's the one place we didn't look."

"Oh… k?" I replied. His eyes were wild with anger and a hint of fear. "How bad?"

"What?"

"How bad a part of town?" I said.

He glanced at me, looked back to the road, and then gave me an awkward look.

"Oh, for all the… Fine! Step on it then." I leaned forward, my eyes now scanning the street. "Of all the… Of course, Isabella. Of course, you would go straight for the only dangerous street in town. You are so right, Edward."

He glanced at me, going back to the road again with a nod. "Be ready to grab her… if necessary."

"Um… What do you mean grab-?"

We swung around the last corner and, sure enough, there was Isabella. She was maybe two blocks down and surrounded by a bunch of strange men but it was my sister alright.

"Whoop!" I yelped as Edward did a half donut, spinning the car wildly around as his headlights caught the strangers, freezing them in place. My door was now right beside Isabella and I sat for a moment, caught up in the paralysis of shock.

"Gen!"

"Oops!"

I undid the seatbelt with a hurried click before jamming the door open so hard I heard my knuckles crack. My other hand was reaching for my sister, reaching out and taking her hand as she reached for me, looked toward Edward for safety. My hand wrapped around her wrist and she echoed the movement: for one moment we were sisters, hands bound together as I pulled her toward me, toward safety.

Then we were in the car and she was slamming the door shut.

As one the two of us turned to look expectantly at Cullen.

He stared back at us, considering.

After what seemed like an eternity, the tires squealed again and we took off, fleeing the scene and turning back toward the restaurant.

"Put on your seatbelt." He said abruptly.

My sister and I looked at each other, looked down at my awkward position squashed against the gearshift, and then back at each other.

"Not unless you pull over, d-… Um, Edward." I replied.

Bella fiddled with the seatbelt as he glared at me and then she leaned forward to peer past me.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly.

I stared at her. When I turned to look at Edward I saw that his knuckles were white where they grasped the wheel.

"No." He said.

I raised an eyebrow at him and suddenly I understood. He likes her. She likes him. And I'm… sitting between them in a Volvo. Oh, dear.

To distract myself I pulled out my phone and started answering the five texts Jess and Angela had sent me, letting them know we were ok. I came back into the conversation to find Bella looking rather angry and muttering something about prom. I shook my head and zoned out again, figuring it wasn't important.

"Jessica and Angela will be worried." Was the next thing I actually heard her say.

"Texting them." I muttered. "Dang Amish… person. Amishite? Amishian? Dang it, Isabella."

"Bella." She replied, seeming to only now remember I was there. She turned a little pink, too. I looked up: what had I missed?

"We're back." Edward said suddenly. He seemed wistful and I rolled my eyes. He'd probably wanted to take her to some romantic spot to talk things out but there I was, third wheel sister, sitting right smack between the two lovebirds.

"Awesome." I said, watching Edward start to open his door. "I can finally get the dessert I asked for ten hours-." My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number and I made a skeptical face when I saw the sender identified in the message.

Bella wasn't listening. "What are you doing?" she asked Edward.

"He's getting out of his car, dumbass." I muttered, staring at my phone. Why was Jacob texting me? How had he even gotten my number? Dad? Maybe Bella. Ugh, I needed chocolate.

I looked up to find myself alone in the car. Completely lost, I looked around and found Edward waiting with the passenger door open. A couple feet further, Bella was explaining herself to the girls.

"I hope you don't mind…" Edward said, giving me a more tolerable, calmer version of his handsome smile.

"What?" I asked.

"If I take your sister to dinner? She should get something to eat. And I think you need some sleep, instead." He shrugged.

I frowned back down at my phone, running a thumb over the screen to wipe away and imaginary smudge. Then I shrugged and slid out of the car.

"You did rescue her, I guess. If you want to join the line of admirers, you go right ahead."

Oh, dude… did he look sorry for me? Why did he look sorry for me? Jerk!

Dick!

...

Author's Note!

So I published again. And I like the Edward, Gen stuff. I drew quite a bit from Midnight Sun for this btw. Probably won't be doing a double again, most of the other chapters are important enough that they won't matter being short.

leiatemperance: You made me feel disappointed :(. I went to see your fanfic only to remember you were brand new. So tell me if you publish, I'm always curious to see what other people write. As to other fanfics I read, ti's mostly my friend who has been helping me with my plot and stuff and got me into fanfic writing: her username is cpjjgj and she has a harry potter sisfic that's pretty good.

andreams: hope you like these :)

Loves to read books:Thanks I hope I finish too :) Still haven't decided if I'll make it one book of the four Twilight books or if I'll have real seperations, tho.

January Lily: more and more jacob to come. Now go write. And yes, Tyler is a jerkface. Ugh.

chocolate cookie lover: I'll do my best! Catching up to myself a bit now so... We'll see!

K bye!


	9. Chapter 9

I had to walk a couple blocks to get back to my car, so I ended up driving back on my own as well. Edward actually offered to walk me there, seeming a little concerned about me walking in the dark but I just lied and told him I had pepper spray in my purse. He seemed to think about arguing… Bella's growling stomach settled that pretty quickly.

Because every guy always picks her over me.

I was pretty distracted on the drive home. I still wasn't sure about going to the Spring Dance with Tyler: sure he was currently my dream date, but was I being too soft? Girls are supposed to be hard to get, aren't they? And never ask the guy out? Then again, that wasn't how I'd gotten Paul. I rolled my eyes at the thought of Paul: it had reminded me that I still needed to text Jacob Black back. Yuck.

The drive went pretty quickly until the end, lack of scenery and much to think about making the time fly by. As I neared Forks I hit a stop sign and stopped, thinking I should just give the kid a quick 'hi, added you' and be on my way. But when I flipped the phone open, there were three missed calls…

From _Dad_…

Knowing I was almost home, I ignored them. I mean, really, all that was between me and the house was the police station: why should I sit at the stop sign for twenty minutes in an awkward phone call, when in ten minutes I would be in a safer neighborhood with an easy lie about not checking my phone? I frowned for a second: did I lie too much?

This thought was chased away rather thoroughly as I approached the police station and found that my dad's car was still there. I peered into the parking lot, growing more concerned as I noted that there were quite a few other cars, including an ambulance, scattered across the station's tiny parking lot: I don't think I'd ever seen more than two cars there before.

I glanced down at my phone, biting my lip. I was literally driving away from my sister's last near death experience: what were the chances that someone else had been hurt at the same time? But better safe than sorry: at the very least I could go inside and make sure my dad wasn't going to be angry at me for not calling him back.

I swung into the parking lot a bit faster then I meant to and my tires made a screech as I pulled into an empty spot. I didn't bother to grab my phone as I slammed the door open and jumped out, barely remembering to lock it up behind me as I hurried to get inside the station.

"Genny?" One of my dad's old officer friends: I didn't know her name. She hadn't seen me since I was ten.

"What's going on?" I asked nervously. "Is my dad here?"

"At his desk, hon." She said. She looked incredibly tired.

I walked quickly over, ignoring people glancing up at my quick pace. Everyone looked a little on edge, their eyes startled as they heard my footsteps. I walked faster as I approached my dad's desk, wanting to hide from the eyes, wanting to check that my dad was actually fine. I found him with his head bowed, elbows on the desk, hand pinching the bridge of his nose as he sat beside piles of paperwork he would probably never be ready to do.

"Dad…?"

"Gen!" My dad looked up and leapt out of the chair, leaving it swiveling wildly as he walked up to me. "You didn't answer my call." He snapped.

"I saw it right before I got here." I explained, glancing at the paperwork as he pulled me into a hug. I ducked out of his arms quickly, squirming away awkwardly and moving to the desk. "What happened…" A name caught my eye. "No!"

"Gen…?" My dad wasn't listening to me. He was looking back the way I'd come, searching the office.

"Mr. Forge… Dad, how awful." I flipped the page to look for some sort of report on what had happened but nothing else was filled in, not even a medical examination. There was a pile of photos a few feet away but something told me I would not want to see them.

"Gen." My dad said, his voice stern.

I didn't even glance up. "Yeah?" I wasn't really paying attention to him. _It was the animal attack, wasn't it? The one he wouldn't tell me about. Maybe Tyler…_

"Gen!" My dad snapped.

I looked up, startled at the anger in his face. "Dad?"

"Where is your sister?" He demanded.

"Um…" I stared at him. "Bella?"

"Yes, Bella!" Charlie said stiffly. "Where is she?"

"Uh…" I stared at him, confused. "Still in Port Angeles, I think. Eating supper? I don't know, maybe they finished by now."

"Gen!" Charlie put a hand over his eyes and sagged back against the cubicle wall. He shook his head tiredly and then looked at me, running his hand over his hair before staring at the floor. "You'd think you'd have a little more concern for your sister's wellbeing."

"I… What?" I stared at him, confused.

"We need to be the ones looking out for her." Charlie said, his tone still disappointed as he looked at my confused face. "We're her family, Gen. You owe her more than this."

My mouth opened and I was close, this close to telling him, to pointing out that I'd spent my entire evening looking out for that flighty little twit. I wanted to point out that I was his daughter too, that I'd stayed with him, I'd lived here in boring old Forks for years: my choice! And Bella comes along and suddenly she's so special, so wonderful, something new and perfect with no issues except that too many boys like her. And she hadn't even picked him! She'd picked Mom! Mom! Who left us! But _I've_ been here! _I_ stayed!

I wanted to say all that.

But instead I found that I was about to start crying.

I clenched my jaw and stormed out of the building, ignoring my dad as he angrily called my name: he wouldn't want to make a scene by chasing me and he wouldn't be angry tomorrow. I took the steps at the door two at a time and made it to the car just as Dr. Cullen was climbing out of one of his family's many, many cars.

"Miss Swan! Hello!" He said, smiling kindly. "Feeling alright?"

I shrugged, itching at my nose to hide how red it was getting. Luckily, I was still holding in the tears. "Hi, Dr. Cullen. Just leaving."

He looked about to stop me, concern in his face, but I just walked faster and refused to react when he called my name again. Soon enough I was in the car, blasting my loudest rock cd and slamming the car into reverse with only a quick check that there was no one behind me.

By the time I got home, I was sobbing.

…

I made it through a very long, very hot shower in which I cried at least 10 minutes and swore for a lot longer, a change of clothes, an episode of some soap opera, and an 11 o'clock snack before I thought it out—the Edward thing, I mean.

I was sitting on my bed, phone in hand, delaying my inevitable courteous reply to let Jacob Black know he had the right number, and I was trying to think of other things. My mind was still racing a bit, running on adrenaline, not only from the anger at my father, but also from all the fear I'd had for my 'little' sister. Some people said that twins could tell when the other was in danger… I supposed that was only true with identical twins, though. I certainly hadn't felt anything other than the usual grumpy acceptance that Bella was yet again in a tight spot for me to yank her out of…

Actually…

I still had that feeling.

I frowned at the wall in the dark, lighting up my phone every few seconds, just out of habit.

What was it? Things had seemed normal after we got her… And the feeling was from before I talked to Dad, too. So what could it be? She definitely seemed to like Cullen. He'd seemed worried about her… though a bit more angry than anything else, I supposed. That was weird. Ok, so was I worried he had a temper? No… I bit my lip and brought the phone up to my head, tapping it at my forehead as though it could help me remember. Something was off. Something was off! But what?

"Ugh!" I leaned my head against the wall. "Who cares?" I asked myself out loud. "Does it even matter? I mean, who knows what he was even doing there…?"

Wait.

What was Edward Cullen doing all the way out in Port Angeles?

I sat up straight, my breathing beginning to quicken. The Cullens were supposed to be out at some mountain hike, weren't they? So why was he alone, hanging out all the way over in some tiny town? I screwed my eyes closed, trying to picture our time together. Something else had been weird… We'd driven around looking… then his phone buzzed… then we found Bella?

I glanced up, my thoughts gathering to drive one last idea home just as a pair of headlights gleamed across my window. Dropping my phone on the dresser, I walked over to the window and stared down to see Edward's Volvo. It only took maybe a minute for Bella to clamber out but by the time she did I was almost sick to my stomach.

I walked back to my bed and slid beneath the covers, curling up into a ball as I listened for the sound of Bella coming up the stairs.

I think Edward Cullen arranged an attack on my sister.

I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.

I think Edward Cullen is stalking my sister.

I pushed the thought away, knowing I was too tired to think. With a groan I rolled over and nestled further into my bed. I fell asleep quickly, dreaming I was being chased by some unknown person.

My phone sat open on my dresser.

Text unanswered.

...

Author's Note:

Almost done writing the first book... will probably slow down on the updates as I figure out the second. Thanks for reading!

leiatemperance: I believe she started with 'We'll be a Dream.' And I know, I know. I keep skipping ahead to write Jacob scenes because they don't all fit in this book. He'll be popping up more and more as Gen starts to find out more about things... (don't want to say when)

chocolatecookielover: Thanks.

cppjjgjgjgjg-make me a picture for my last chapter scene!

Loves to read books: here it is!

January Lily: I know! Tyler is such a jerk.

...

Thanks for commenting! Let me know what you think!


	10. Chapter 10

I actually left before Isabella the next morning. I was avoiding her, unsure what to say to her but sure she wouldn't listen. As it was, it was a good thing I left early: first, I had to deal with the fog and _then_ I had to deal with Jessica.

"So? What happened? Did Bella tell you anything? Is she seriously dating Edward FREAKING Cullen? Why didn't you answer my texts?"

"Um…" I replied. I had been getting out of my car, mind going over whether or not to ask Lizzy's advice on the matter when Jessica'd ambushed me. I also had not exactly gotten much sleep the night before. "Oh."

"Oh?" Jess leaned in closer, her voice changing to hushed tones. _"Oh?"_

"I think I forgot my phone at home." I said confusedly. "And Isabella…" No, probably better not to say she got back late. "We didn't talk. We don't talk. I don't know." I slammed the car door and shrugged at my heavy backpack. "Ask Bella. I don't know. I'm tired."

Jess gave me an amused look but allowed this as an excuse. She chatted with me about some strategies for the Spring Dance and then I left her by the cafeteria, lying in wait for the defenseless Isabella Swan

I… might not be the best sister.

I made my way across campus to my the biology lab and went in to find a seat next to the random girl I'd been partnered up with, saying hi but then only speaking when we disagreed about the answer to a lab question. When class was over my posture immediately became slumped: I'd been so focused on dealing with Isabella, I'd forgotten I had class with Dick as well.

Damn. It. All!

Play it cool? I pinched the bridge of my nose as I walked to English, ignoring the group of junior varsity boys who were now giggling at my look of frustration. It wasn't like he knew that I suspected anything. And I had no proof, so I wasn't going to make a scene-never make a scene unless you _know_ they can't turn the tables on you—and I wasn't going to try to get him alone either. Just the thought gave me a shiver down my spine and the feeling that those dark eyes were watching me, staring into the back of my neck.

"Gen." A smooth voice said, uncertain.

"Eff off." I replied. Then again, maybe I could find some new clues if I talk to him… I turned around but Edward was already in a seat halfway across the room. I let it go and went back to my assignment, proofreading it one more time so that the rough draft talk with Mrs. Grystl would be as short as possible.

On the other hand, when class finally began, I took every opportunity to look over at Dick Cullen to see if I could catch him being creepy. Somehow, every time I tried, he was either taking notes or listening to the teacher. Didn't even catch him daydreaming once. I, however, did not catch a single word of the day's lecture and had to steal notes from Lauren.

It was becoming quite the day.

In Pre-Calc, Tyler managed to mix up my head in further by actually noticing I wasn't quite myself…

"Not excited to being going to the dance with the coolest boy in school?" He'd teased.

"I'm pretty sure you only have that title _because_ you're going with me." I replied, my voice a bit more crabby and less flirty then I meant it. He just winked at me.

"Oh, come on. Tell me what's up so I can beat it to a pulp." He pretended to flex his biceps, the move a bit less meaningful with his muscles hidden under three layers of clothing.

"Beat it to a pulp?" I asked. "You can't even beat the Cougars at basketball."

Tyler dropped his arms and slumped in his desk, pouting slightly. "Ouch, Swan. So we got 10th place. Don't have to be mean about it."

"Sorry, Crowley." I sighed, dropping my voice to a whisper as Mr. Jesse began roll. "There was… there was another attack last night and… I'm just kind of freaked out." Of all the things that had happened, this was the least of my worries: but I knew Tyler and it was the only one he would understand. "You hear anything about it?"

"You're dad's still keeping it under wraps, huh?" Tyler muttered sympathetically. "But I hadn't heard anything yet. It takes at least 24 hours for me to get to all my sources, Gen. You can't rush these things."

"Tyler!"

"Here." Tyler called, lifting his head up to answer the teacher's call.

Mr. Jesse sighed deeply. "Well, that's wonderful: then maybe you can give us your answer to number 2."

Tyler turned bright red at this and refused to speak to me after this brought on a case of giggles I fought the entire rest of class. He did say good bye to me after, so I knew he wasn't too angry. Still, I had to cross my fingers that I wasn't going to run into any more trouble on that count: the Spring Dance was a little too close for comfort if he was going to decide to ditch me.

The rest of the day, and the next day for that matter, was pretty boring. Bella was spending every possible moment with Edward and I was avoiding them. I'd considered butting in for a few seconds, when I first saw them at lunch, but as I walked by I'd discovered that he was in the 'I want to know everything about you stage' and Isabella was telling her life story right back to him. When not with him, I could see this daydreamy look in her eyes that meant she was still completely focused on him and his handsome, chiseled butt of a face.

This was not something I could stomach so I spent lunch with my friends and my night at first holed up in my room and then seeing how loud I could turn the volume on the tv before my ears bled. I no longer had basketball practice to distract me and having to keep in all of Bella's new secrets was making me even more irritable then my distrust of Edward and fight with Dad could excuse.

The next day went about the same… until after school, of course. That day was the day Edward decided to stay at our house after driving Isabella home. They sat in the car until I came out and tapped on the window, asking them if they'd like me to set up a movie for their new drive in theater—I know, not the best joke; I was angry, ok? –Then they sat out on the front porch chatting, somehow managing to be right at the edge of where I could have listened to them through the open front window. Confused and angry at the coincidence, I spent a good ten minutes mouthing to myself what I thought they might be saying before I went and slumped on the couch, turning on the pre-commentary to one of the last NBA games.

I quickly fell into a doze, waking only when a voice came through the cracked window to startle me.

"Billy!"

I turned, waking up abruptly from a daydream about some famous, cute athlete. Billy was here? I loved 'Uncle' Billy. I began to sit up, grinding my palms into my eyes to bully them into waking up. Oh, this was going to be _much_ less awkward then watching the game with my silent dad! Unless…

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see you behind the wheel, Jake." I heard my dad laughing.

NOOOOOOOOOOO.

My evening was ruined.

I looked around quickly, not sure what I wanted to do about the situation. The game wasn't really that important to me… but Jacob would probably spend his time talking to Bella… but seeing a boy chasing Isabella was also irritating… but Billy was here! Ugh.

Either way, I took too long to decide and soon enough they were all traipsing in, laughing and shaking the rain all over the living room carpet. To postpone the inevitable, I fell back on the couch and closed my eyes, hoping they'd think I was asleep.

Sure enough, they missed me for a bit. I got to hear all the normal pleasantries, Billy embarrassing Jacob (which was awesome), some other neutral, carefully boring conversation, and then they broke apart. I heard Jacob and Bella walking into the kitchen, thank goodness, but Billy and Dad came in to join me in the living room.

"Ah, of course." Billy said when he saw me. He didn't sound as happy as the last time he'd seen me… Then again, that'd been a while ago. "Genevieve." I didn't respond. "She's grown up."

"Yep." Charlie replied. He sounded little irked… did he disagree? Or was it just the normal 'dad's only ever see their little girl' thing? Or was it that I wasn't very good at fake sleeping and he didn't want to call me on it. The possibilities were endless.

"Jacob's been a bit sad about that, I think." Billy commented. I heard his chair wheels squeak as he found a place between the couch and the sofa chair. "Seeing the girls get older and move on. He always was such a good friend to Gen."

_Oh, no. _I thought, panicking at the thought of sitting a session of guilt tripping. _How do I stop this? _

"Well, maybe if the kid hadn't introduced her to Paul I'd be a little more broken up about it." My dad grumbled.

Apparently, he and Billy were _not_ completely made up from the fight they'd had a couple months ago. Yeesh. I wrinkled my nose.

"Waking up, Gen?" Billy asked.

"Mmmmmm." I groaned, turning away from his voice and pushing my face into the pillow. They both laughed at me.

"Not too grown up, then." Billy laughed.

"Grown up?" I mumbled, managing an only half fake yawn as I sat up and smiled at him. "Hey, Uncle Billy. Long time no see."

"Hello, Gen." He said with a smile. Of all the people in the world, he's the only one who I _know_ would never pick Isabella over Genevieve… He at least likes us equally well: sometimes I even think I'm his favorite. "How is school?"

I shrugged. "Same old. Dance is on Saturday, that should be fun."

"It must be nice to have your sister there." Billy said.

I shrugged again. "Sure." My voice was a little too unenthusiastic and Dad gave me a look. "Um… Yeah, we have gym together. So that's… um… entertaining?"

"Why don't you go say hi to Jacob." My dad intervened. "He and your sister are in the kitchen."

"Fine." I got up with a groan and shuffled over into the hallway, stopping at the doorframe to eavesdrop for a little while before I built up the will to actually talk to two of the least interesting people I knew.

They talked about Jacob's car for a bit, then had an awkward moment of Bella trying to avoid telling him that she'd been with Cullen. This part was a bit interesting: it reminded me that Billy had always had the same natural dislike of the Cullen family. I stored that information away, meaning to find a chance to ask Billy about it before he left: there was no way I was risking a day of 'fun' with little Jacob just to get another chance at solving the mysterious Edward Cullen family secret. It was half way through this exchange that Jacob happened to glance over and catch me napping against the doorway.

"Genevieve!"

"Huh?" I blinked my eyes open and found him smiling at me. "Oh. Jacob."

"Yeah…" He frowned at me a long second, then turned back to continue chatting with Isabella. I accepted this as a victory and walked away, heading back to the living room where I could hear the game beginning.

It was just like old times for a bit. Isabella hung back in the doorway, watching as though she was afraid she might miss something-as if she had any idea what was going on—and Jacob hung back to chat with her. Billy and Dad cheered and I cheered for the opposing team, laughing every time they glared at me. All the while, I was looking for my opportunity and trying to think of a way to get rid of the lot of them so that I could talk to Billy.

Finally, when my dad went to the kitchen for some beers, roping Jacob into coming with to grab some chips, my sister ran upstairs to use the bathroom and Billy and I were given five seconds to talk.

"Billy…" I said slowly, pulling my legs up to kneel on the couch as I checked behind us to make sure my dad wasn't coming back. "You… You and my dad fought about the Cullens, right?"

He gave me a sharp look. Then he nodded slowly.

"Ok…" I said awkwardly, not sure how to proceed. I glanced behind me again and then stared at the floor.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Genny?" Billy asked quietly. I looked up anxiously, trying to see if he was taking me seriously or not.

"I don't know…" I shook my head. "It's really… I shouldn't talk about it."

"What do you want to ask me, Genny?" Billy said again, just as quiet, almost somberly really. There was a hint of worry in his face, concern as he saw me begin hesitating again. "Go ahead, I won't tell your father."

"It's just...!" I trailed off again, now not sure how to put it. "Billy, I just need to know _why._" His face became pinched. I rushed on, committed but seeing that I was losing him, that he wasn't going to tell me. "_Why _don't you like the Cullens? I mean, Dad loves them… But—"

"You don't." He said.

"No!" I replied, my voice a little desperate. I leaned forward, close to falling off the couch as I leaned over the armrest. "But why don't I? And now Isabella is dating Edward and he seems to like her but it's just… There's something _off_ about it. Y'know? And I thought, maybe, you could tell me… or we could figure it out?" I was practically begging at the end, desperate for something simple for once, but he was already shaking his head.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely, his sad eyes suddenly reminding me of Jacob's as they took in my confusion. "But I cannot tell you."

"But _why?_"

But he turned away.

And then of course Dad came back and Bella came chasing in, glancing around with obvious anxiety as she realized that Billy and I had just been talking. I stood up, irritated, and walked out of the room, hearing the jingle of the next commercial break following me as I wandered through the hallway. Pushing down my anger, I started toward the stairs, changed my mind, turned back to the stairs, and then gave up and stomped into the kitchen again.

Ugh: as if this night could get any worse. I'd forgotten Jacob was still in there.

"Hey, Gen."

"Hey, Jake." I muttered.

"Do you guys have any salsa?" Jacob asked, holding up the bag of chips as though to prove it wasn't a pointless question.

"Probably." I sighed. I wandered over to the fridge and stared into its depths, feeling suddenly exhausted. "Your perfect Bella would know better than me."

"My… Um…" Jacob said, flustered. I turned, hand waving uselessly in the air where I'd begun reaching for the salsa. "She's not…er…" He was turning bright red.

I grinned at him. "Not what, Jacob?" I asked, feigning innocent. "Not perfect?"

"No… I mean, yeah, no one… Gen…" He raised his hands. "Gen, she's really nice."

"Oh nice." I said. "So that's what you like, huh?"

He was now a brilliant red color, his dark skin blending quite nicely with the crimson of his neck and cheeks. "No, Gen. It's…"

"Calm down, Jacob." I laughed, finally turning away from him to find that my fingers had been two centimeters from the salsa the entire time. "You're not the only one."

"Right." He said awkwardly. He looked about to leave but I cut him off, placing the salsa in his hands and heading over to the cabinets for a bowl. "Hey, Genevieve?"

"Mmm?" I asked. "Open the salsa, will you?"

"I just wanted to know if you got my text." He said as he popped the lid and handed me the jar. "Bella gave me the number, but she wasn't sure—"

"Oh!" I said, my chest tightening slightly as I remembered that night. I smiled, uncomfortable and insincere. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I got it."

Jacob looked at me curiously. "You ok?"

"Peachy!" I snapped, dumping the red gloppy salsa into the bowl with such enthusiasm that I managed to splash a bit across my face and a bit more across the floor and counter.

"Um, Gen…"

"I know!" I shrugged past him and went for the paper towel. As I wiped off my face he offered to clean up the rest but I was irritated and shook my head. "Just take it out there. You're missing the game."

"You care more about that then I do." Jacob said, though he also now looked a little irritated. He bit his lip and then took a hesitant step toward me, his face young and uncertain. "Gen…"

"Just go, Jacob." I groaned. "I can clean up my own messes."

Jacob looked at me, considering. His good nature was fighting against the knowledge that I just didn't want to talk to him. "Hey, if you're free this weekend…"

"Spring dance this weekend." I said, cutting him off. I knelt down and began wiping the salsa from the tile floor.

"Oh. Well, Paul…" He tried again.

"Paul?" I said puzzled. "Jacob."

"Well, you seemed to get along with him last weekend." Jacob said, starting to sound a bit crabby. "And when you don't talk to him, he tries to talk to me."

"Ok, _that_ I will feel sorry for you for." I said. "But I doubt me coming up to see how you fix Bella's truck is going to get him off your back."

"Well…" Jacob said slowly, smiling shyly. "If you brought Bella too…" I turned and raised an eyebrow, smiling despite myself. He was turning red again. "I mean, it is her truck after all."

"Yeah?" I said, walking over to toss the paper towel in the garbage. As I did, Jacob slipped behind me and grabbed another piece for me.

"I mean, it is your turn to come up, after all… And we wouldn't want to exclude the younger Swan sister, especially after she's missed out on visiting the res for so many years…" He eyes met mine, pleading.

"Ok, kid." I laughed, wiping up the last of the salsa. "I'll do what I can. But not this weekend."

"But soon." He said.

"Meh."

He frowned at me for a few seconds, studying me. I looked at him skeptically.

"Jacob."

"You can always invite someone else, you know." He said slowly.

"You need to make up your mind, Jacob." I replied tiredly. "Am I coming up to appease Paul? To bring Bella? To bring a boyfriend?"

"If Paul sees you're unavailable he'll give up and leave me alone." Jacob explained.

"In what universe would Paul do something that reasonable?" I asked.

"Oh, right." Jacob said, frowning as he reconsidered. "Paul."

"Paul." I agreed.

Jacob shrugged. "Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out. And again, even if Bella and the truck aren't available, I'd be happy to teach you anything else you want to know."

"Eh." I said indifferently. "Yeah, we'll see."

Seeing that the conversation was over, Jacob wandered off back to the living room. I took the time to grab a glass of cranberry juice, stalling a little as I put my brain back in order. I could tell what was happening anyway: Dad and Billy were cheering and groaning loudly enough that I could get a pretty good idea of almost everything that happened. Sipping my juice, I moved into the hallway, finding my sister still hovering in the doorway. Rolling my eyes, I pushed past her, 'accidentally' brushing shoulders with her.

It was a long, exciting game and by the end of it I was blinking with tiredness and thinking about taking a sick day in the morning. As everyone started saying goodbyes, Bella was a bit worse, having been bored half to sleep she now was dozily smiling at Billy and Jacob as they moved past to get to the front door.

"Are you and your friends coming back to the beach soon?" Jacob asked Bella as he pushed his father's wheelchair toward the door. He looked like a puppy again, eyes big and begging for her to notice him.

"I'm not sure." Isabella said carefully. I narrowed my eyes at her. All that flirting and now she was pushing him away again?

"That was fun, Charlie." Billy said, turning to my dad as Jacob reached over to give Isabella an enthusiastic hug.

"Come up for the next game." Dad said with a smile.

"Mmm." I said noncommittally. Jacob had noticed my skeptical face and was now trying to fix the situation by offering me a hug as well.

It was basically the most awkward hug to ever happen: we both went up, then we both went down. We next tried to put one arm up, one down but somehow still ended up blocking each other. Finally I offered a hand for a handshake, glad for an excuse to get out of the situation. Jacob didn't take it, he just wrapped his arms around my middle and gave me a quick squeeze, lifting me momentarily off the ground while I struggled against his strong grip and snarled at him through gritted teeth to cut it out.

When he put me down he and Dad were both laughing at me and Jacob gave me an apologetic smile as he disappeared out the door. We called out some more good byes and then they were down the steps.

The door clicked shut and I looked down at my cup of juice. Dad made some comment to Isabella and moved away, still talking, but Bella and I were still in the front room. I looked up at her: a pretty face, a shy smile, innocent eyes… all joining together to form a ridiculous flirt. I'd been assuming her only fault in all this was that she tried to get rid of her loving swains by pawning them off on the rest of us but Jacob had given me a fresh perspective. Intentionally or not, she was leading all these guys on.

"Gen?" Isabella asked, turning to see me frowning at her.

I paused for a second before I thought of what to ask her. "Did you tell Tyler you'd go to prom with him?" I asked slowly.

Bella turned bright red and looked at her feet. "You found out about that, huh?"

I blinked twice, considering my sister and the chagrin on her face.

Then I simply reached up and dumped an entire glass of cranberry juice over her pretty little head.

...

Author's note:

Long chapter and Jacob.

You're welcome.


	11. Chapter 11

"What do you mean you're grounded?" Tyler yelled at me.

We were standing outside pre-calc and I was regretting not having texted it to him. That would not only have minimized the yelling but it _also_ would have meant that I wouldn't have to worry about teachers and snitchy students overhearing the situation.

Why did it matter?

Because I had a plan.

"How am I supposed to find another date?" Tyler demanded.

"You're not." I said, talking out of the corner of my mouth.

"What?"

"Tyler, I'm telling you this so you know why I ask you to pick me up halfway down the block." I muttered.

"Wait…"

"I'm sneaking out, Tyler. So you'll have to text me where to meet you and I'll walk over there." I looked up at him and then shrugged.

Tyler pinched the bridge of his nose and began to shake his head. "How are you going to sneak out in a dress?" He asked. He knew already that I had quite a lot of practice climbing out of the second floor window—the window that now belonged to Isabella. I'd been forbidden from going to quite a few late night parties my freshmen year due to a C in speech.

"Ok." I said, nodding at his point. "You'll have to come a little earlier so I have time to change. But I'll have hair and make-up ready."

"Gen…"

"It's doable!"

"It's not going to be dark out." Tyler moaned. "People are going to notice you climbing down the front of your house with a dress hanging over your shoulder and a pair of shoes in your mouth—don't act like that wasn't your plan—and they're going to talk to your dad."

"Screw him." I said grumpily. "I don't care what happens after the dance at this point. I just want to go." This was not quite true: I was afraid of being banned from prom. But I figured that it was far enough away Dad wouldn't think of it when he punished me and _also_ that it wasn't worth angering Tyler. "You in or not?"

"Damn it, Swan."

"Give me an answer or I'm going to show Coach those pictures I took of you last year." I said, only half teasing. "You know how he feels about having a dry season." I finished pointedly.

Tyler frowned, considering. Then he swore at me.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

Tyler shook his head and began heading into class. "Fine."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Yay!" I bounced over and gave him a quick hug. "You're the best."

"You're blackmailing me." Tyler grumbled.

"It's not blackmail if you know they'll say yes anyway." I told him. "Besides, if I sneak out you'll have blackmail on me so I have to have _something_ to hold against you."

"Yeah." Tyler said. "Or you could, you know, trust me."

"Yeah, there's that." I agreed, blinking a little at the strange idea.

"Whatever, Gen." Tyler sighed. "We'll talk about it later."

"Ok." I said, shrugging carelessly before bouncing off to class.

...

The rest of the day was fairly normal. I went through the day on autopilot, chased an annoyed looking Mike away from Isabella but otherwise stayed away from her as well. That night I skipped dinner, claiming I'd eaten a big lunch but really just unable to stomach the crabby look on Dad's face. Later I went down to the kitchen for a snack and passed Bella doing a ridiculous amount of laundry. I ended up sitting against the hallway wall outside the laundry room while she worked, trying to annoy her by quoting action movies and replacing key words with something about detergent or dryer sheets. The only downside was that it was exactly the type of thing Tyler would have enjoyed and I didn't feel comfortable texting him anymore. So instead I made a doofy reference to the 'Tide's of evil' Isabella had faced and then collapsed across the hallway floor.

"You ok?" Isabella asked.

"Boys stress me out." I said. I threw an arm dramatically across my face. "I should have told everyone that I was going with you to Seattle. Then Tyler could have gone with Lauren and I could have become the most beautiful nun to ever… what do nuns do?"

"Tyler wouldn't be happy with Lauren." Bella said, but her voice was a little hesitant. I peeked an eye out. "And about Seattle…"

"Mmmm?" I asked. I raised the eyebrow. This had little effect as my arm was still draped across half my face.

"I'm not going anymore." Bella admitted. "I'm… studying."

I studied my sister with a skeptical look. "Studying." I repeated.

"Yes." She was turning slightly red.

"Alone." I added, watching to see if this made her more or less embarrassed.

"Yes, alone." Bella said, being very careful not to look away from the washing machine.

"Liar." I covered my face up again. "Meeting Edward or cheating on Edward?"

"I… what?"

"Don't be an idiot, Bella." I snapped. "Also, I hope you're not cheating on him."

Isabella walked over and knelt down beside me. "You like him?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"Heck, no." I growled. "Dude's crazy."

"So why…"

"I'm not so sure he wouldn't kill you." I said simply.

Bella gave a strangled laugh. I sat up quickly to glare at her.

"That is _not_ a normal reaction, young lady." I said, more concerned than joking. "What the hell?"

"I just…" Bella looked flustered. "Gen, he's saved my life twice."

I just looked at her, regretting my involvement. "Ok." I shrugged.

"Gen, he's really alright." Bella insisted. I scowled and she seemed to come to some decision. "I'm not seeing him this weekend." She said firmly. "I was just going to explore the hiking trails a little and I know Charlie won't like the idea.

I frowned at her. She held my gaze, her face no longer red but a little stubborn and a tiny bit worried. Finally I shrugged.

"Fine. You're having a lame lonely weekend. I won't be the one to tell Charlie." I hesitated and then frowned. Did she not know that there was a monster killer animal on the loose? Bella walked back into the laundry room and I closed my eyes, falling into a doze. She probably knew, right? But I should still tell her. Sometime tonight. Sometime soon. Any moment now.

And that is how I fell asleep in the middle of a hallway on the hardwood floor.

…

I woke up with the smell of laundry detergent stinging my nose: it smelled like regret. And lemon. Mostly lemon. My instinct was to be angry at Isabella but I was really just more impressed at myself for making it until… 9am, wow.

Knowing that the regret wouldn't be permanent unless I fell back asleep and woke up in what would definitely be a foul mood from severe back pain, I managed to sit up and look around the house. I could tell that Isabella and Dad were already gone: they didn't make much noise, but the house creaked with every movement and I heard nothing.

"Hello?" I yelled, just in case.

There was no answer. I stood up and groaned, stretching out my arms as I turned to wring out the small crick in my back. Yawning, I made my way into the laundry room and started digging through the dryer, trying to find something less smelly then the sweatpants I'd fallen asleep in. As I found a pair of shorts and slipped them on, I took the opportunity to sniff the pants and wrinkled my nose as I recoiled; they smelled like butt and resin, one of my top ten least favorite combinations as of that moment.

Hoping that my day could only go up from there, I pulled Tyler's sweatshirt out of the dryer and slipped it on. I found my phone on the hall floor and picked it up, blinking blearily at the four missed texts and a voicemail from my dad, probably reminding me that I was grounded. Just in case, I went outside and checked my car: sure enough, Charlie'd done something to keep it from starting: it was a trick he'd developed over years of grounding me only to find my car gone from the driveway.

I frowned at my car, thinking of my dad and his failed attempts to make me behave. Thinking of all the things I'd done to make him angry and how I hadn't felt like this made any difference in how much he cared about me, not until Bella came along and showed me how things could be if you were actually nice to your parents. I was much too used to my familial relationships being closer to a sparring match then to the quiet companionship Isabella seemed to have with both of them. I scowled down at my car, remembering the night so long ago, the night Mom left.

As I texted Jacob Black, asking him if he knew of an easy way to disable a car and how to then fix the disabled car, I was really thinking of my parents and Bella and all the old pictures of a time when I was too young to realize that a happy, whole family was something to be grateful for.

Now realizing that I was making my bad day even worse for no reason—having brought both my divorced parents and Jacob Black into my mind—I kicked my car and headed back inside, going up to take a shower and mess with my hair. It was a bit difficult to make any decisions on my wardrobe and I knew that even morning wasn't too early to start: while I was still thinking of Spring Dance as a practice prom, I also really wanted to look pretty enough to keep my date for at least the rest of the school year. Not that that was going to be an easy battle, what with Lauren and my sister…

Aaaaand, I was depressed again.

..

The rest of the day was rather uneventful, though to be honest it was filled with thoughts of the same nature, coming back to me every time Jacob texted me another thing to try with my car. He offered to come down three times and I dismissed it, telling him it would get him in trouble with Dad: I was pretty sure that Jacob knew exactly who had messed with my car and was only hoping for an excuse to come down and see Bella. Tyler started texting me around 5, an hour before our rendezvous time, trying to bail out and volunteering Jess to replace him. I replied with insults, actually going so far as to google some new ones to keep up a steady stream, sending him an insult every five minutes on the dot until he sent me a text containing the f word and where to meet him.

"_Oh, giving in so soon? I was having fun __L_" I texted him back, half an hour before sneaking out.

"_Just be there. Moron ;)"_

I laughed and then scowled as I heard my dad coming in. I waited a bit, knowing he was going to check that I was still home and hoping he wouldn't make me come down so he could check whether I'd been getting ready… not that I was too worried about that: Dad didn't really think of girly things. My scowl turned puzzled as I heard a male voice and then grew into a fearsome glower as I realized who had just walked into my humble home.

I stomped over to the stairs and called down in my loudest voice.

"Is-a-bella!"

"Gen?" She appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking surprised to see me. Edward appeared next to her, replying to her questioning look with a surprised shrug of his own.

"There is a _man_ in my house." I complained.

Bella and Edward shared a glance and immediately got lost in each other's' eyes.

I didn't bother to say anything. I just pulled my sweatshirt off and tossed it down the stairs at their lovey-dovey faces. Edward caught it right before it hit Isabella's face and turned to look up at me.

I stuck my tongue out at him. Creep. Creep who is dating my sister. Edward raised an eyebrow as he reached out for Bella's arm to drag her away. With a flash of temper, I started to walk down the stairs toward them. I know what you are, dick!

Edward glanced up at me startled to find the fury on my face. "Bella…" he started. "Did you…?"

Dick! Ugly, manipulative dick! Weirdo stalker!

Edward began to smile as I grew closer, tucking Isabella protectively behind me as I stormed toward them.

"Calm down, Gen." He laughed. "We're just making supper." He looked at me carefully and then his eyes crinkled against more laughter. "Don't you have a dance to get ready for?"

"Dance?" Bella said. She looked at me more carefully. "Gen, how—"

"All of us have our secrets." I grumbled, still glaring up at Dickhead. "Some easier to keep them others."

Edward just laughed again. He was in a weirdly good mood. "Come on, Bella. Let's go."

"Sure you don't want to grab dinner with us?" Bella called back.

"No. Dad will be home soon." I sighed. "Tell him I'm sleeping, will you?"

"Mmm." Was all my sister replied.

Great.

…

I waited until I heard my dad inside before I text Tyler and made my way down to my sister's room. She was still downstairs luckily, and I clambered out the window with no real problems, my backpack light with only my dress, my shoes, and a clutch purse.

Tyler was waiting for me around the corner, looking very cute in one of his older brother's old suits and a black tie he'd bought to match my dress. He didn't say much at first: in fact he looked a little nervous as he drove me up to a gas station and waited while I went inside to change. I got a few looks when I came running out, still in my tennis shoes, but the grin I got from Tyler made me forget everything else.

"To the dance!" He declared, restarting his engine. "Unless you'd rather spend the night here."

"Um…" I looked at him awkwardly as I pulled off a shoe and it smacked me in the forehead. "I don't know what to say to that. So I'm just going to go with this:" I gave him my best 'you're sh**ting me' look.

Tyler laughed. "To the gym!"

"Yes." I sighed. "To the gym." I strapped on my seatbelt and began untying my other tennis shoe.

Tyler backed up without looking and then slammed on the gas, swinging his car wildly out onto the street. There were no cars around-it was a Saturday night in Forks, after all—but I still had to grab on to my seat to keep from smacking a head on the dashboard.

"If you kill me on the way to the dance, so help me, I _will_ kill you." I snapped as he began to slow down.

"I'm not sure which part of that sentence to make fun of first." Tyler replied with a laugh.

"Meaning?" I was bending over again, finally pulling on my strappy black heels.

"Meaning am I allowed to kill you on the way back from the dance?" Tyler said, turning to grin at me.

"No." I said, giving him a haughty sniff. "Not until after Prom. Or at least until after I've bought my dress for prom so I can be buried in it."

"Are those two types of dresses really interchangeable?" Tyler asked, glancing over at me and what I was now realizing was a rather short black dress.

"Shut up." I grumbled, fighting back a smile as I noted that his gaze kept coming back to me, even as I realized this was not the best trait in a guy driving me through town at fifteen over the highest speed limits.

"In addition," Tyler replied. "And I know, I know, I should just let go of this, but how are you going to kill me when you're dead?"

"Hasn't that point been made in several movies?" I asked doubtfully, finally managing to sit up.

"No." Tyler said. "Usually, the line is 'If you die, I will kill you.'"

"Same thing."

"Yes but no." Tyler shrugged.

"Besides, that means that I can still come back as a ghost and kill you." I said. "Mine was way more logical."

"I…" Tyler stopped to consider. "I will allow that. Though I doubt even a vengeful ghost would want to harm this handsome face." He waved a hand at himself for emphasis.

"I don't have to harm your face to kill you." I pointed out.

"Ok, but…"

"And then you would be a ghost too and actually…" I frowned. "That would keep your face _longer _because you would never get old and gross."

"Gen…" Tyler glanced over at me, feigning regret. "Crap."

"What?"

"I think I just convinced you to murder me." He laughed.

"Oh, no! You're right." I sighed and shook my head.

"I am." He said solemnly.

"Well…" I said, after a couple seconds of silence. "You still have some time."

Tyler waited a moment, paying a bit more attention as he took the turn into the school parking lot. "Oh?" He said, glancing over at me and looking a little bit more serious as he turned the car off. I wondered if he was thinking of the accident, and if he was thinking of my sister.

"Well, I need you for this dance at least." I said, hoping he would get the hint and invite me to another. "And I've heard that most people are their most attractive in their early twenties."

"Oh, good. I have some years still." He said, winking at me.

"I'm glad you're so accepting of your unavoidable doom." I joked as I got out.

"Well, you are giving me until after college." Tyler said with a shrug, joining me to walk up through the parking lot toward a growing line of students.

As we waited, unable to find any of our friends except one of the other basketball guys and his angry looking date, Tyler began yet again trying to convince me to like the Huskies. This conversation lasted until the door, when it turned to him recycling another old conversation of ours: who my favorite basketball team really was. We carried on about basketball right up until we found a table with the others in our group and Lauren, Jessica, and Mike glared us into silence.

"Really." Lauren said, never one to let things lie. "You two have nothing else to talk about, do you?"

"We had a pretty deep conversation on the ride over, actually." I said, turning to wink at Tyler.

"Life and death stuff." Tyler agreed, grinning at me.

Lauren's glare became even more bad tempered.

I grinned openly at her.

Several people got up, looked around uncomfortably, and muttered something about looking for the drinks.

The tension eased a bit as Tyler and I started talking to our other friends, chatting a bit about where they'd all gone for supper and where they'd gotten dresses. Gradually the music started and I joined a group of my basketball friends in dancing.

Things went on like this for a while: my school tended to lay off slow songs until at least half way through the dance so, while Tyler and his friends danced a little, the two of us weren't really able to hang out. Finally, though, there was a pause and then the first measure of 'Collide' began to tinkle through the gym.

I turned around, looking for my date, and found him two steps behind me, looking like he was thinking about running away to hide.

"Oh, come on." I laughed, grabbing his hand and pulling him further into the dance floor. We dodged around other awkward couples as they tried to figure out where to put their hands, making our way to a place where we were surrounded enough that I felt no one could stare at us.

"Who are we hiding from?" Tyler teased, seeming to notice the way I was looking around, checking that the wall of gooey eyed high schoolers was secure.

"I just don't like the idea of anyone watching me with my handsome date." I said, reaching up to link my hands behind his neck. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, smiling down at me as we began to turn with the music.

"Oh? Where's he hiding?" Tyler smiled at me.

"Who?"

"Your handsome date." He said, winking.

"You just want to force me to call you handsome." I giggled.

"No, I want to make sure your eyes are working." He pulled me a little closer and I knew why he hadn't objected to hiding among the other couples: any chaperone that saw us would be sure to give us an earful.

"My eyes? Work? After a lifetime at looking in the mirror at this blindingly beautiful face?" I scoffed. "Ha. If only."

"Good point." Tyler responded, shaking his head sadly. "But truly a loss for you."

"You think so?" I said, grinning up at his confidant, crooked grin.

"Well, I do have a 'blindingly beautiful' date, so I can't be that bad to look at."

"Of course." I conceded. "Though, it does mean a bit less when she's admitted to having bad eyesight."

"But her friends haven't been telling her not to date me, so I'm taking it as a win." Tyler countered.

"Hmm." I said, thinking it over. "I have no argument for that."

"And I have just used logic to prove I'm handsome." Tyler declared. "Take that, Mom."

"Um, what?"

Tyler shrugged. "She said I need to think more."

"I thought handsome people didn't have to think." I replied, teasing again.

"No, just the beautiful girls." He laughed. We both glanced over at the soundbooth, realizing suddenly that the song had ended. "Um… want to get some punch?"

"Sure."

We kept joking around as made our way over to the short line to the drinks. As we talked I looked around for some friends to join after and found Lauren and Jessica looking over at us, talking. Jess had a hand over her mouth and Lauren looked furious. Feeling a little uncomfortable, I turned back to Tyler and accepted the cup of fruit punch, starting to take a sip.

The next thing I knew Lauren was next to me. She yelled something I couldn't hear, yelled something else at Tyler, grabbed my cup and tossed it in my face.

As I stepped back in shock, feeling the cold soaking through the front of my dress, I felt my temper start to surface. Lauren was glaring up at me defiantly, not the least bit apologetic or regretful as the room started to quiet down and people started to look over.

"What the hell, Lauren?" Tyler was asking.

"Serves her right." Lauren snapped. "Stupid bitch."

"I'm a bitch?" I shot back. "You stupid piece of s***! What is your problem?"

"You stole my date, that's my problem!" Lauren screamed, standing on tiptoe so that she was yelling right in my face.

"Screw you!" I yelled, pushing her away.

"Screw _you_!" She yelled back, yanking my hair before shoving me into the punch table.

"Oh, no." Tyler said.

"Jerk!" I yelled, glancing back as dozens of cups clattered across the floor. The dinky, half full punch bowl caught my eye.

As Lauren continued to call me foul names, I turned around and, using the momentum and adrenaline, launched the entire punch bowl over her head. As it bonked her in the head, she slipped in the growing puddle around her feet and sat down hard, ensuring that every inch of her was covered in slippery red punch.

"What's going on over here?"

"Sh**!" Tyler muttered, grabbing my arm and yanking me away. "Move, move, move!"

I obeyed, letting him drag me behind the tables and toward the doors. We were practically running by the time somebody turned off the music and we heard someone calling for the other chaperones. As quickly as he could, Tyler yanked open the door and pushed me out, following me into the cold and laughing as I started to shiver.

"I think you might have a little punch on your dress." He told me.

"Not as much as Lauren does." I grumbled.

Tyler burst out laughing and offered to drive me home.

It was a short drive, which was very disappointing considered Lauren had cheated me of a good half of the dance. Luckily, we pulled up to our dropoff spot while Tyler was in the middle of retelling the story and we ended up sitting there, making fun of the look on her face, for at least another half hour.

"Oh, man." I said finally, wiping punch and tears of laughter from my cheeks. "I do have to thank you for dragging me out of there. Who knows what would have happened if they'd caught me and called my dad? I don't know how he would respond to one of his daughters getting suspended for a catfight."

"Not to mention you destroyed all the refreshments." Tyler chortled, holding his sides as he tried to control himself.

"Still though," I said, grinning over at him and reaching out to touch his hand. "Thanks for saving me."

Tyler looked over at me, still laughing and then his smile kind of froze on his face.

"Gen…" He started quietly.

I leaned closer, not sure I would be able to hear what he said next. As I got closer, his eyes changed, looking thoughtful… looking at me… glancing uncertainly from my eyes to my lips as he leaned forward to…

And then he pulled back and stared at the steering wheel.

"Crowley?"

"I… had a great time, Swan." Tyler said. He glanced at me and gave me another smile, this one a bit weaker. "I'll see you Monday. Thanks a ton."

"No… no problem." I said, blinking a little as I absorbed what had just happened. "Bye, Tyler."

"See you." He said again, giving a lame little wave.

I didn't smile back at him, just gave him a confused look and turned to awkwardly clamber out of the car.

"Good night." Tyler called after me.

I slammed the car door and walked back to my house.

...

Author's note:

I will give a really long author's note next time I promise but today I'm super duper tired and Castiel just stole the thing so I need to go see what Dean and Sam do and find out who's going to die next. Aka I was watching Supernatural and realized it was my publish day. Bye!


	12. Chapter 12

I had work the next morning and it did not go well. I was so distracted that I ended up getting shoved back to kitchen duty, washing dishes as my boss frantically ran around doing everything else while still managing to point out several times that I'd been staring at the same plate for twenty minutes. By the time I got out of there, an hour after the lunch rush, she was pretty happy to see me go and I was three seconds away from ripping a plate in half from sheer frustration.

Getting off of work made things worse.

It turned out, surprise surprise, that once I didn't have an angry boss to think about, I had Tyler to think about. I ended up sitting in my car alone, staring at the dashboard, muttering to myself and wishing Forks had daisies so I could pull of all their petals and figure him out already. Then Dad called and left two voicemails pointing out that I was still grounded and had better get my butt home: I listened to them listlessly, not bothering to pick up when he called the third time. I was too busy studying my nails and wondering why Tyler Crowley hadn't kissed me.

The worst was yet to come.

As I sat there, mutely wondering if there was anything from last night that I was missing, if something had happened while I'd been in the bathroom or having my lame dance with Eric, if I should just text Tyler and pretend that I'd noticed nothing… as I sat there wondering what I should do, I got a text.

With a sigh, I picked up the phone, telling myself that I was overthinking things. He'd probably just been distracted and suddenly realized how close he'd gotten. He just thought of me as a friend and had gotten carried away with the romantic atmosphere and all the laughter and…

It was a text from Jess.

I stared at it for a minute and felt the numbness begin to take hold, felt confusion sparkling through my mind and blotting out any other thoughts. Almost blindly, I shoved the keys into the ignition and slammed into reverse, making my way home automatically as I began the whole process over, trying desperately to figure out where I'd gone wrong. At the last stop sign before home I couldn't take it anymore and I pulled out my phone to read it again, staring angrily down at the letters until a horn startled me out of my stunned reverie.

"_So how did Tyler ask you out? He didn't tell me his plan ;)"_

When I pulled into the driveway, I opened the phone again and hit the call button, not sure if I would have the chance to talk after my dad saw I'd finally gotten home.

"Hey, Gen!"

"Jess… " I said awkwardly. "Tyler was going to ask me out?"

Long pause.

"Yeah… He told Mike… what was it, Friday? And I asked him about it last night and he was still planning on it." She sounded incredulous as she finished. "Did he _not_ do it?"

I bit my lip, the world starting to turn blurry. "Nope."

"Wow." Jess said. She sounded almost genuinely sorry.

"Yep." I choked out a laugh. "And he changed his mind about kissing me, too." I admitted.

"Who's that?" I heard; Mike's voice in the background.

"Um, I have to go Gen. I'm out with Mike." Jess paused for a second. "Talk later?"

"Only if you beat Tyler up first." I said, trying to sound flippant and uncaring.

Jess laughed, falling for it. "I'll get Mike to help. Talk to you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Click.

I snatched the keys from the ignition and turned, finding a pair of red-rimmed brown eyes staring back at me from the rearview mirror. They looked away immediately, ashamed at this sign of weakness, but I could still feel the tears building up as I hurried past the cars in the driveway and into the house.

I really should have looked at the other cars.

As I burst into the house, I felt the explosion coming: I was already beginning to hiccough and my chin was trembling as I fought off thoughts of everything bad that had ever happened to me ever and felt instead a growing sense of stress knotting up in my neck. I slammed the door behind me, took one step in the direction of the stairs, decided I could definitely make it to my attic bedroom before I lost control, and…

Jacob Black appeared in the living room door.

He took in my state of being immediately and started to back up, but Isabella was behind him and wasn't quite as observant.

"Hey, Gen, how you feel about fish fry for supper?"

"Not hungry." I snapped, turning again and walking hurriedly toward the stairs.

"Gen…"

"I said I'm not hungry!" I called desperately, starting up the stairs as fast as I could before she could call me back. I heard her saying something quietly to the Blacks but she didn't come after me.

When I got upstairs, I took to the opportunity to trash my room.

Not feeling much better as I surveyed a broken lamp, pillows and clothes scattered across the room and a shoe lodged on top of my dresser, I sat down on the bed, put my head in my hands, and sobbed.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.

Jacob peeked in, looking a little annoyed. "Gen?... Oh."

"Oh." I repeated, glaring up at him. "Yes, oh. Go away, Jacob."

"Can't." Jacob sighed. "Dad kicked me up here to check on you and they'll both send me right back up if I go back."

"Then sit on the stairs, Jacob, geez!" I ground my palms into my eyes, but he'd had time to look around and see the state of my room.

"Um… Redecorating?" Jacob guessed.

"Yep. Going for the 'Life is stupid so why clean' look." I snapped, kicking at a bit of lamp that skittered away from me and bounced off a wall.

"Ok…" Jacob walked hesitantly into the room, carefully walking around my scattered possession until he arrived at my computer chair lying on a pile of clothes. Yanking it upright, he dragged it over to my bed and sat it facing away from me, straddling it backwards so he could rest his arms across the back. "Is it that scary story douche again?"

I looked up, surprised. "Who?"

"That guy you were with at the beach." Jacob said calmly. "If you need anyone to beat him up, my offer still stands."

I looked him up and down, wanting to point out that he was tiny compared to Tyler, but realizing at the last second that Jacob didn't deserve me taking out my bad mood on him.

I smiled weakly. "That's ok, Jacob. Really. It's just been a long week."

"Look." Jacob said, settling further into my computer chair. "I'm stuck up here for a least the next ten minutes. So if you want to talk…"

"I don't know." I said. "I just feel…" I shook my head. "No, you don't need to hear this."

"Maybe I could help." He offered. I looked at him skeptically. "What? You have guy problems. I'm a guy."

"Yes, but you don't know my guy." I said.

"I know he's a jerk." Jacob said.

"How?"

"Cuz he hurt you." Jacob said simply. "Only a jerk would want to hurt Genevieve Amelia Swan."

"Amelia?" I said, puzzled.

"Is that not your middle name?" Jacob said, looking a little embarrassed. "Paul said it was."

"Why would he say that?" I asked. "And why Amelia?"

Jacob closed his eyes and propped his chin on his folded arms, swiveling the chair back and forth. "He was making fun of someone for dating someone they barely knew and asked them if they knew the girls' middle name. I think you can figure it out from there."

"They asked if he'd known mine and he lied." I agreed.

"Very smart." Jacob said, yawning a little.

"He got it from me." I admitted.

Jacob looked up at me, considering as he saw my sheepish face. "You do lie a lot, don't you." I looked away. "Well, it's better than attacking people like Paul does."

"I dumped a bowl of punch on a girl last night." I admitted. Jacob snorted. "Though she attacked me first."

"Man, I knew I should have gone to school in Forks. It sounds so much more interesting." Jacob shook his head.

"Drama starts out interesting." I said slowly. "Then it gets exhausting. And then you destroy your room."

"Yeah…" Jacob said, glancing around. "There is that."

"I do feel a little better though." I sighed.

"Ok." Jacob lay his head down on his arms again, frowning moodily. "Want some help cleaning? Probably not going to be allowed downstairs for a bit."

I gave him a quizzical look. "Why?"

"My dad and Bella are probably having a huge argument." Jacob said. "Or, you know, Bella's version of a huge argument." I continued to stare blankly. "Billy doesn't want her with the Cullens." Jacob explained.

"Oh!" I got up and, realizing I had no reason for doing so, decided to amble over to my small window. "Good."

"Good?" Jacob asked. "It's stupid."

"No. There's something wrong about them." I said. "About him. He's a dick, Jacob. A giant bag of dicks."

"Okaaaay." Jacob laughed. "But since when do you and my dad agree?"

"I don't know." I stared out the window, watching the rain get heavier. Listening to the patter made my heart feel a little lighter and I wasn't frowning as badly as I turned to look at Jacob. "But you don't have to help clean."

Jacob shrugged and stood, ready to go. "Alright." He started making his way carefully to the door, again making sure not to step on any of my stuff. His hand was reaching for the doorknob when I realized that I really, really didn't want to be alone.

"But…" I said, catching him off guard. "Um… Would you stay anyway? Keep me company while I start to organize this mess?"

Jacob blinked at me, mouth hanging slightly open for a moment. Then he gave me his huge puppy grin and bounced back over to the chair. As I began to collect the clothes that still had hangers attached, Jacob began to prattle on about the car he was building and about getting his license. Part of me tuned him out, but it was still weirdly nice to have him there, to have his calm voice chasing away all the anger and self-doubt that Lauren and Tyler had brought boiling up inside me. When Billy yelled up for Jacob, maybe ten minutes later, I was almost disappointed and I actually started to follow the kid down.

"Um, Gen?"

"Yeah?" I said, halting behind Jacob as he stopped in the stairway.

"You might want to wash your face." He said quietly. "I know Dad wants to see you, but… you still have a little…"

"Ok." I said, my breath catching a little as I nodded. "Tell him I'll be right there?"

"Sure." Jacob said, starting to reach out but then catching himself, probably remembering my reaction last time.

"Be right there."

I quickly splashed cold water over my face and dried off, making my way back to the stairs as I listened in on Jacob arguing with his dad about staying for dinner or just a little while longer. I knew it was for Bella—poor kid obviously had a huge crush on her—but I still was a little bit disappointed when his dad shook his head.

"Hey, Billy." I said quietly.

He glanced up and smiled at me. "Genny." He said. "You should talk to your sister."

"Dad…" Jacob groaned.

Billy was insistent. "Tell her what you think. For Charlie."

I bit my lip and shrugged, looking away as I realized that I would probably never be willing to tell Isabella what I suspected about that night in Port Angeles… at least not until I figured out how it connected to Billy's dislike of the Cullens. When I looked back, Billy was frowning and Jacob was mouthing an apology to me.

"See you." I muttered.

"Bye, Gen." Billy said. "Take care, Bella."

I glanced over to find her frowning in the kitchen doorway. She didn't reply.

Jacob and I shared an awkward look as he wheeled his father out the door.

I walked over and shut the door behind them before turning and looking at my sister. She lifted her chin slightly, a defiant look on her face. I waited for a second, wondering what Billy had told her, what he'd said about what I'd asked him. Bella said nothing, waiting for me.

Finally, I shrugged and walked back up the stairs.

Because really, what did Isabella's love life have to do with me?

..

I fell asleep soon after that. My dreams were a blur, faces mixing together with scenes from my memory. Nothing I would remember later. They ended with a nightmare: suddenly going from a glimpse of the dance with Tyler to a dream of drowning. I began to twist around, struggling to breathe but unable to tell which way was up or down. My lungs began to burn as the dream continued, panic setting in until with one final yank I broke out of the dream and into the waking world.

Something still wasn't right.

"Leave me alone!" Someone screamed.

I sat up shakily, confused to find the world dark around me. "Isabella?"

"Bella, are you okay? What's going on?"

I leapt out of bed, recognizing fear in my dad's voice as he continued yelling at Bella to open the door. I was soon beside him, looking blearily between him and the locked door.

"Dad?"

"Did she tell you anything?" He asked, rubbing anxiously at what hair he had left. "She was just going out with Edward…"

"Edward?" I said. I turned and began pounding on the door myself. "Is-a-bell-a! did that dick do something to you?"

"No!" Bella sobbed.

"Don't lie, Isa-Oh, that dick! I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him!" I started down the stairs but my dad grabbed my arm.

"Bells, what are you doing?" He asked, hitting the door again but holding me back from doing something stupid. "Did he break up with you?"

I bit of hope fluttered: did I not have to worry about that creep anymore?

"I broke up with him!" Bella shrieked back.

Oh, no. I shared a glance with my dad, but I don't he understood the worry in my look: what kind of stalker would that kid be when she didn't return his feelings? If I was right… if he'd arranged things in Port Angeles… I turned back to the door and pulled a bobby pin from my hair, thinking to pick the lock. It swung open before I could try and Bella brushed past me, nearly knocking me down the stairs as she swung her heavy bag over her shoulder.

"What happened?" Dad said as he followed her, confused and not seeming to care that I'd just about almost died. "I thought you liked him."

They were both downstairs now. I didn't bother following, just sat on my bum in the landing, feeling a weird sense of déjà vu as they argued. There was a sense of dread weighing me down, keeping me from doing anything to keep my sister from running off. The heaviness in my chest was making it hard to breathe. It was simply the final knockout punch in a round when Bella said her 'goodbye'.

"Just let me go, Charlie. It didn't work out, okay? I really, really hate Forks!"

And then the door slammed.

And dad and I were left with the words mom had once said echoing through our heads.

The words mom said when she left us.

The words mom said when I let her leave me.


	13. Chapter 13

It was bit awkward after that.

Dad came up again after a couple minutes, sighing sadly as he saw me still sitting there, wide eyed and shocked in the middle of the landing. I just stared at him, unable to process the actions of my perfect, harmless little sister as I blinked up at the pain in his eyes. How was I supposed to feel? Happy that that jerk was gone? I was just angry.

"She said she'd call us." Dad said shortly. "When she gets there."

"Huh." I replied. My voice barely made it out.

"You ok, Genny?" Dad asked quietly.

I shook my head.

"Oh. Well. Why don't you go call some of your friends? Talk it over?" He was _not_ that great of a counselor, my dad. But I guess it was nice to see him try.

"Maybe tomorrow." I said thinly. "I think I'm going to take a shower and head to bed now."

"Okay, sweetie." My dad replied, giving me an awkward pat on the head and mussing my already snarled hair. I looked up in surprise at his use of the word but he was already walking away, obviously wanting to be alone and away from his second emotional teen daughter.

Suddenly he turned around again.

"You don't feel like that, do you, Gen?" He asked. He frowned at me as my mouth opened in surprise.

"Like what?"

"Like Forks is… Like you want to leave." Dad looked down at his hands and his face looked ancient, familiar: I saw the same feeling that haunted me, the same loneliness and wonder what was wrong with you that you had to watch others turn away.

I waited a moment before I answered, memorizing the one vulnerable moment my dad had ever had with me. "No." I said finally.

He nodded and he looked a bit more like himself again. "Good." He said gruffly.

He turned and walked back down the stairs.

I realized I was getting a rather severe headache.

One hand on my forehead, I crawled up the stairs at a rate of about one per every ten minutes, only standing when I got to my door and had to walk past my mess to find a towel and my phone. Scooping some ibuprofen off my desk, I tossed some pills into my mouth and swallowed them dry before heading back down the shower, texting two or three of my friends to see if they had time to talk.

The shower was, thankfully, the one part of my weekend that was completely uneventful. The water was fine, I didn't slip, didn't get shampoo in my eyes, didn't even have to shave. This was good because if one single thing had gone wrong, I would have been curled up in a ball on the throw rug, sobbing about how much I hated people. As it was I just ended up stand in the hot water too long, once again turning up the heat bit by bit until the bathroom was filled with steam and I found myself red as a lobster when I finally go out.

I wrapped my towel around myself and made my way back to my attic room, checking for replies and finding none, sending out a few more texts to some of Bella's friends so they would know she'd left. I knew she wasn't going to tell them. Upstairs I threw on my comfiest pair of jeans and a baggy t-shirt before grabbing my laptop and popping in 'Steel Magnolias', not sure if I wanted to continue moping or cheer up. About ten minutes into the movie my phone finally buzzed.

I flipped open the phone and frowned, seeing a text from an unknown number. Kicking the bits of broken lamp out of the way, I made my way back to the bed and collapsed onto it before jabbing angrily at the button to show the text.

'Something's happened and I REALLY need to talk to you NOW. GET DOWN HERE.'

As I reached to hit a reply, another text came in.

'WHERE ARE YOU I NEED TO SEE YOU NOW'

I opened my mouth, ready to ask the question out loud. Who was it? But really, how many people are bad tempered enough to yell at someone for not coming when they haven't technically told them where to go?

'Is this Paul?' I typed quickly. I set the phone down and waited, staring at the ceiling. It only took a couple seconds for a buzz to sound.

'Oh. Yes. MEET ME AT THE BEACH NOW.'

I sighed and gave up on the texting, hitting the call button before Paul could start texting me nonstop. It rang twice and then I got Paul's voicemail. I hung up immediately and waited a second. Sure enough, just like old times, he called me back ten seconds later.

"Genny?" His voice was rough with exhaustion, or possibly some illness.

I sat up and curled up against the wall beside my bed. "Are you ok? You sound awful."

"I've… been sick, yeah." Paul said slowly. For a second I thought he was lying: but why would he lie about that? "And I really need to see you."

"Paul, I'm grounded. Potentially forever." I began picking at the comforter as I talked. "Can't you come down here?" I felt a weird hint of nostalgia as I said those words, remembering all the times we'd argued over that very question.

"No, I …" He choked off and I could picture him in my head, face contorted with anger, hands about to shatter the phone as they gripped it too tight. "I can't come down."

"You…"

"I'm sick." He said again.

"Ok." I said. "Well, I don't want to _get _sick. So can we just talk on the phone?"

"No…" Paul said insistently. "I need to _see_ you."

"Paul, of all the times to try this…" I shook my head and then had to push my long hair back out of my face. "This is the worst. I've already used up all of Dad's patience and then Bella…" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Isabella left."

There was a pause and I knew why: Paul was fighting against the anger he felt at not getting his way, trying to be patient for me. From the irritation in his next sentence I could tell it wasn't quite working for him.

"Genevieve. You. Need. To. Come. Here. And. Talk. To. Me." He insisted.

"Damn it, Paul." I groaned.

"I know that means yes." He said, some good temper coming back into his voice, a bit of calm returning to the conversation. And also… relief? "Please, Gen."

"Can you at least tell me why?" I asked, scooting off the bed to look around for a pair of good climbing shoes.

"It's just…" Paul sighed and I paused, suddenly very curious what this new tone of voice could possibly mean. "I'll tell you when you get here."

"Meet at the campground?" I asked, pulling on a pair of brown hiking boots with one hand and scowling as I just ended up pinching the back of my foot with the heel.

"Be there soon." He ordered.

Then he hung up on me.

Yep.

Just like old times.

…

I had to be quiet as I slipped through Bella's room-former room-and out her window and this was incredibly frustrating. The way my weekend was going, I wanted nothing more than to decorate every square foot around me with a festive string of expletives. As it was, I just mouthed every foul word I knew as I clambered down from the second floor window and stomped out into the driveway, glancing back to make sure none of the front lights were on.

Using the tips Jacob had been giving me the day before and some things I'd googled myself, it took me about five seconds to fix my car. It took longer, actually, to quietly climb inside and get settled in: I was both afraid of Dad hearing my escape _and_ not sure that this was a good idea. The Swan family's luck with boys was not exactly good this weekend, what with Isabella's fight with Edward and my lack of anything with Tyler and Jacob constantly texting me about… I glanced at my phone to see what he'd been asking about. Bella. Really shouldn't have told him that she left, but whatever. He'll live. Meanwhile I had to go see my ex about who knew what.

It was about then that I realized no one could hear me in the car and I was free to swear as much and as loudly as I wanted.

It was therefore with much yelling that I found myself driving through the woods to LaPush and very little of it could be considered poetry. As it was, I eventually moved from swearing to theorizing about what idiotic thing Paul was going to make me talk about and what ridiculous consequence my dad was going to come up with as a result. The truth was, I had no clue what strange thing could possibly both exist and make Paul be semi nice to me. I frowned a little at that thought, wondering if maybe Paul… Nah.

I turned onto the last road, right on the border of LaPush and began looking for the turn off for the beach. Truth was, I'd never driven up myself and it was all looking a little different in the dark. Not to mention a little creepy. After a life of driving around town, the lack of any headlights or streetlights was disconcerting and I was starting to get a strange feeling tingling up my spine. Ten minutes of driving later, I was sure I'd missed my stop and pulled over to take out my phone.

"Paul?" I said as he picked up. "I'm a little lost."

"That's ok." He said, sounding a bit rushed. "I'm… going to be a bit late. Something I have to take care of… Just stay where you are ok? I'll come get you after…"

"I don't know where I am." I grumbled.

"Just stay in your car and I'll find you. Everyone gets lost out there. I bet you're five feet away from the spot I'm thinking—Yes, I'm coming! F*** off.—"He let out a weird growl. "Just stay in the car!" He ordered again, speaking through gritted teeth.

"Ok…" I agreed. He'd already hung up. "Well, f***."

I obeyed for maybe five minutes. Six minutes, tops. Truth was, I'd been holed up in the house all day and now I was a little frustrated to be sitting in my car with even _less _room to move around. I tapped at the steering wheel, listening to the static ringing out from my radio. No signal out here. Not in the middle of flipping nowhere. Which is where I was. Waiting to be rescued by my moron ex-boyfriend. Who probably was just going to yell at me, like he always did.

I slumped and set my head against the steering wheel. Who was I kidding? I was the moron driving around in the middle of the night for a guy she hadn't had feelings for in years. We'd broken up… what, beginning of freshmen year? And that had been after three months apart, three months of only speaking when we argued over who should come visit who.

My phone began to buzz and I sighed in relief, thinking it was Paul about to finally tell me where to go. But nope. It was Jacob's number. It was a sign of how bored I was that I picked up.

"Jacob?"

"Gen, it's Billy." Mr. Black spoke hurriedly, not stopping for any of my attempts at a question. "You need to head home, ok, hon? It's not safe out there. You need to go home this instant."

"Calm down, Billy." I said, surprised at the concern in his voice. The only reply was a hint of static. "Dang it. Hang on one sec, ok?"

I opened the car door and took a sharp breath as the cold air hit my face and a wind began tugging at my hair. Holding the cell phone out in front of my face, I stepped out into the road and began to walk.

"Can you hear me now?" I asked.

"Yes." There was a bit of static and then Billy was back. "Genny, you need… Go home!... not… animal…"

I felt an invisible fist suddenly seize my stomach and twist it. "Animal?" I repeated.

Another wind brushed my. My hair streamed out behind me as I pulled my coat closer.

"The animal… nearby…" There was something off about his voice but I couldn't figure out what: I didn't know what he was trying to say.

It was too late anyway.

The scuffing of my footsteps and the howl of the wind in the trees was suddenly interrupted by a cool, girlish, cheerleader soprano.

"My, my." I turned to catch a glimpse of brilliant red hair. "Don't you smell delicious."

Then something pricked me in the neck and everything went black.

...

Author's Note:

Ok, so Saturday is my new posting day because more of you read and comment then anyway. And also I forgot to post this Thursday.

lilytimes: 3 :) Thank you!

belladu57: thanks!

taffyrose: I know right? Glad you like Gen!

cpjjgj: well, more jacob and gen coming up in the next book. for the rest of this one, gen is going to have some other problems to deal with... though i think everyone will enjoy my last chapter of 'she will be loved: twilight' wink wink

dream lighting: Sorry. too late. Don't worry though, it'll work out.

Guest: I KNOW RIGHT. (may be based on real events with my poor friend)

January Lily: yes i finished teh story. and yes every time I write Crowley I want to bail and watch supernatural. And no I can't get the next episode to work. And yes I'm very depressed.

Scarlett Bearrows44: lol may be based on real sibling events. Except I was 9. But yes, I thought Bella needed taking down a peg.

kisstherainandthesun: lol. You're welcome.

Guest: Are you the same guest? You're welcome, too.

d112hpfan: YESSS I cannot WAIT to get to that and see how Gen will act.

Maiannaise: Haha. Ha. lol

Bella hater: lol maybe some day.

Loves to read books: Might have already responded to this but w/e. Thanks! Hope you still like it.

leiatemperance: Trying to get more Jacob. Like I said, it's a bit difficult. But he's in both the last chapter of my twilight and teh first chapter of my new moon so he's wedging himself in a bit more. YAy.

Wow, I hadn't realized how many of you were commenting. AWESOME. I like to know what people think. Like I've said, I've actually changed some plot points based on comments. Though I'm four(?) chapters ahead so hurry up if you have an idea.


	14. Chapter 14

I woke gradually, feeling murky and dizzy. Immediately a man's face was inches from my own, grinning hungrily at me with handsome, glittering red eyes. He held a phone in his hand and, when he saw I was awake, he dialed a number and waited patiently as the rings buzzed through my skull like lightning through fog. After two rings, someone picked up.

I stared at the phone as he shoved it in my face. He grinned at me, seeing the dizzy pain in my face.

"It's your sister, pretty girl." He seethed.

"Isabella." I mumbled, not really understanding.

Bella's voice rang out from the phone, frantic. "Gen? Are you ok? Did something happen? Is Charlie ok?"

He brought the phone back toward him, speaking quietly into it.

"Gen?"

"Be careful not to say anything until I tell you to." The man hissed cheerfully into the phone. He was watching me with a hideous glee. "Now, Genny. I don't need to hurt you any more, do I?"

I stared at him blankly.

"No." he said. "So you will both do exactly as I say and Gen here will be fine." He patted me on the head and I winced away, my head swirling so that I had to fight to keep my stomach still. The man stood and moved away, leaving the phone on speaker so that I could hear. "Now repeat after me, and do try to sound natural. 'No, Gen. I am not coming back.'"

I couldn't hear what Isabella replied and the vampire seemed to agree that she wasn't speaking loud enough.

"I can see that this is going to be difficult." He said with a smile. "Why don't you walk into another room now so that your face doesn't ruin everything. There's no reason for your sister to suffer. As you're walking, please say, 'Gen, just listen to me.' Say it now."

"Gen, just listen to me." Isabella begged.

I stared at the man, starting to remember a little but still at a loss for what was happening, for where I was.

"There now, are you alone?" He turned back to me and grinned again, proud of himself and still hungry. "Just answer yes or no."

"Yes."

"But they can still hear you, I'm sure"

"Yes."

"Alright then. Say, 'Genevieve, you can't.'"

"Genevieve, you can't."

"I can and I will." I interrupted, words slurring.

The man was instantly before me, too fast for eye to follow. His eyes narrowed and then he casually slapped me across the face so that I felt something crack and had to whimper with the pain. I heard a laugh and turned to find the red haired woman from the day before.

"This worked out better then I'd thought." He crowed softly. "Your sister was quite easy to lure away. I was prepared to wait but… It's easier this way, isn't it? Less anxiety for you. Now I'm going to need you to get away from your friends."

I rubbed at my cheek, fighting back pain and wishing I could understand a piece of what was happening.

"Can you do that? Answer yes or no."

"No."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping that you would be a little more creative than that. Do you think you could get away from them if your sister's life depended on it? Answer yes or no."

There was a long pause. I started to stand but fell back.

"Isabella?" I asked again, focus coming with the word. "_Isabella_?"

"Yes."

"Is… wait, what are you-?" I reached out as though I could possibly snatch the phone. He slammed a hand over his mouth and knelt next to me as he finished, smiling apologetically at me.

"Very good, Bella. Now this is what you have to do. I want you to go to your mother's house. Next to the phone there will be a number. Call it, and I'll tell you where to go from there. Can you do that? Answer yes or no."

"Yes."

"Before noon, please, Bella. Your sister hasn't got all day. Have you, Genny?" He dropped the hand from my face, giving my broken jaw a pat so that I whimpered into the phone.

"It's important you don't make you friends suspicious when you go back to them. Tell them that your sister called and that she was threatening you to make you come back. Now repeat after me, 'I'm not coming back, Gen.'"

"I'm not coming back, Gen." Her voice was thick.

The man opened his mouth and then looked at me, smiling and considering his next words. "Now, 'Gen, I can't do this." He reached over and patted my hair back into place, grinning as I winced away from him. I heard the red haired woman hiss angrily.

"Gen, I… I can't do this."

"And now this is when Gen hangs up on you. I will see you soon, Bella."

Click.

He turned and grinned at me again. I looked away only to see the red haired woman creeping closer, eyes locked on the two of us with a hint of obsession.

"Who are you?" I mumbled, hysteria leaking into my voice.

They both laughed at this, filling the dark space around us with the beautiful peels of their voices: soprano and tenor, a song that thrilled through me in a wave of terror.

"Not who, Genny. What." The man said softly.

Standing, he walked away and disappeared into the darkness. A little later, there was a click and the room was flooded with light, revealing mirrors and the wooden floor of a ballet studio. I saw now that the redhead vampire was holding a camera on me, flashing a little red light as the man approached me again.

"Fine." I said, trembling. "What are you? Mafia? Serial killers?"

He laughed again. "No. Kind of." He turned to the woman. "Victoria? Give her a hint."

The woman gave him a look of stomach turning puppy love and then she handed him the camera. In the time it took me to blink she was then in front of me, staring into my brown eyes with her brilliant, bloody irises.

"You… you wear contacts?" I asked. My brain felt frayed, unable to put together what I saw with their new burst of laughter. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you people?"

"Poor, blind little human." Victoria simpered.

Human?

"Yes. Should we leave her like that?" The man wondered. "Or should we give Bella an even better surprise when she comes running in those doors?"

Victoria thought about this, looking a little excited. Then she shook her head. "No, I'm hungry, James. Waiting for the girl is going to take long enough…" She began to bob up and down a little, jittery with impatience. "Do we have to wait? The human will be upset either way…"

"No." James reached out and took the camera, holding it steady on my frightened face. "No, we are going to put on a show. And for that we need patience."

"But James…"

"No."

Victoria turned and walked off in a huff, gone in seconds. James was still looking at me.

"Poor little girl." He whispered. "This isn't your fault."

"What are you?" I demanded.

"A nightmare." James said with a shrug. "A killer." His eyebrows raised and he waved his hands as he mockingly said his next words, "An animal."

"Animal… you've been attacking those people?" I had to rest for a second: talking was sending splinters of pain through my broken jaw. "But that's impossible."

"Not for a monster like me." James said with a smile. "But all that can wait. For now, we need you to save your strength for your sister's visit tomorrow!"

"I have to sleep again?" I asked, seeing him pull out a needle.

"Yes, dear. Sorry. I know it's so much more interesting to talk with me, but…" He shook his head. "Don't want you squirming around and tempting Victoria to have an early supper, do we?"

"Sup…" I felt a sting in my neck again.

And all was black.

…

"Time to wake up, Genny."

Pain and horror washed over me as I woke up to find myself still in the ballet studio.

"You're real?" I whimpered, finding the man—James'—face before me, his red eyes flashing.

"Oh, I'm real." He said, grinning viciously. "But we can talk about that later, Genny, dear… You're sister's here."

"Isabella?" I squeaked.

"Gen!"

I looked away from James to find Bella breaking through the double doors and storming into the room, stopping short when she saw the man with me.

"Hello, Bella." He said smoothly. "I _am_ sorry about this." He reached over and smoothed my hair down, soothing me as I trembled from terror and the pain in my jaw and head.

"Sorry?" Bella said doubtfully.

"There really was no need for your sister to get involved. Victoria got a bit carried away, I'm afraid." Here he turned to me, smiling. "Speaking of which, don't try to get away, little Genny. Victoria is watching the back and you'll never make it to the front. But you realize that." He shook his head and gave me one last gentle pat on the head. "Poor little pet."

"I'm here: you can let her go." Bella said, only a slight shake in her voice.

James smiled. "I will give your strange coven this much, you humans can be quite interesting. I guess I can see the draw of observing you. It's amazing — some of you seem to have no sense of your own self-interest at all."

He stood up and walked toward my sister, stopping to cross his arms and look at her curiously. I began to look around, desperate for a way out, still not quite sure what I was dealing with. Bella and the man kept talking, he teasing her and loving the power he had over her. I saw Bella tense and her body grow stiffer as he talked about my dad and Edward, about how he'd caught me: something about me wandering away from my bodyguards. I began to understand a little; somehow Edward had pissed this guy off and now he wanted revenge, that's what it seemed like.

As I found that there was no escape, James began to finish up his monologue, throwing out one or two little barbs for Bella before he ended it.

"Would you mind very much if I left a letter of my own for Edward?" James said, giving her the gentlest of smiles as she recoiled in horror. It wasn't anything new for me: just the camera he'd had out the day before, balanced over on a stereo so that it saw the whole room. I wondered again why he'd bothered to have me—to start the video on me, to have me in the shot of whatever he was going to do to Bella. I began to tremble and he looked over at me.

"What?" I snapped, affecting a very poorly acted bravado.

"I'm so sorry, Genny, dear. I forgot about you. And you could tell, couldn't you? Like I said, Bella." He winked at my sister. "I get a sense about my prey. And Genny here was probably just thinking about how unimportant she is compared to you."

"You said you wouldn't hurt her." Bella begged. "Please—"

"Oh, I'm not going to kill her: which is what I promised… I think." James laughed. "Who can remember? But really, kill a pretty thing like that?" I started to struggle to get up, finding then that something—probably Victoria—had broken my left leg, making me fall back against the glass wall. James clucked his tongue as he heard me gaps with pain and then he turned back to Bella. "No, I'm keeping her."

"_No!"_

"Which, really brings me to my next point." James said. I could tell now that he was really loving it, the drama. If he hadn't been a nutcase, I would have told him to try acting. He had the looks for it. I gritted my teeth and started to stand again, staying on my good leg. "I would just like to rub it in, just a little bit. The answer was there all along, and I was so afraid Edward would see that and ruin my fun. It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me. You see, the vampire who—"

Oh.

_Oh._

I understood now.

I was having a psychotic break from an animal attack: James was probably my doctor, who I'd glimpsed in a moment of consciousness… Victoria was… ambulance driver? That would be why I thought she'd brought me here… I tried to stand again and the pain cleared my head, forced my belief in reality to sharpen.

This was real.

I shuddered and leaned back against the glass, trying to get as far away from the man and my crazy sister as I could…

_Vampires are real_, I thought.

_And I think I'm about to become one._

_..._

Author's Notes:

cpjjgj: here ya go. Also it's pumpkin, not dearie. I don't know who dearie is.

dream lighting: muah haha. maybe. maybe not.

guest: Thank! you made my day. :)

More coming in about a week.


	15. Chapter 15

I focused back in on the conversation just as James finished up, Isabella still standing across the room, her expression of horror reflected in every mirror.. "-no reason for me to touch her then." He sighed and I was surprised he didn't put a hand to his forehead, like people in old movies. "I destroyed the old one in vengeance."

"Alice." Bella gasped.

"Who the hell is Alice?" I demanded, my voice a garbled mess from my broken jaw. I was standing now, my voice weak with pain but still holding all the irritation I'd meant it to.

James glanced at me with a smile. "You'll understand soon, Genny. Patience. I have to take care of your sister, first."

"You can't—"

"Trust me, dear." James said soothingly. In an instant he was in front of me, breathing in with a smile. "You won't mind losing her. Not after I change you." He gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead, not even noticing as I struggled to break away from him. As he pulled back, his face was thoughtful. "Then again…" He said slowly. "I can't have you ruining my shot."

There was a loud crack and I screamed as I fell back to the ground again, clutching desperately at my second broken leg. James didn't even wait to see me fall, instead turning to my sister as she began to move toward me, yelling my name.

"_Gene-!"_

He dropped into a crouch and then he was on her, knocking her flying into a wall of glass. There was a sickening crack as she fell to the ground again, as shards exploded across the room. I hid my face behind my arm and felt bits of glass splinter into my flesh. I pulled down my arm to see James circling her like a vulture, admiring the wreckage.

"That's a very nice effect. I thought this room would be visually dramatic for my little film. That's why I picked this place to meet you. It's perfect, isn't it?"

"Bastard!" I yelled. It was all I could get out through the pain and my swelling mouth.

He turned and winked at me.

Then he walked over to my sister and placed a foot on her leg.

"Leave her alone!" I demanded, angry and slowly beginning to realize that if he changed me… if I became… like him… Was I going to be doing these things to someone? This thought was split in half as he stomped down hard and Bella screamed, her voice echoing with the snap of her leg. It was then that I had another thought: my sister was about to die. I was about to lose my sister, my sister who had come here to save me, and I was never going to get her back.

This BASTARD was stealing my family!

Stupidly—I cannot emphasize that word enough—I reached out and grasped a shard of glass, one almost as wide as my fist, and closed my hand around it. I don't know what I planned to do with it—throw it, maybe? And if so, how numb does a brain have to be before it considers throwing a piece of glass at a mad vampire?—but as soon as my hand closed over it, I felt it pierce my skin and I saw James turn and lock in on me like a shark finding a fish.

A drop of blood hit the floor.

I saw his face lose all humanity.

I saw the thirst take over.

I saw him arrive by my side, not caring as he yanked my hand up.

He sunk his teeth into my wrist and I felt the world seeping away.

"Isabella?" I muttered, looking for her. She should run now. This was going to be her only chance.

But when I looked across the room and found her, she was already unconscious.

As something grabbed James and yanked him away, my head hit the floor and I joined her.

And I dreamed of my sister screaming my name and begging for me to stay human.

…

Burning.

My hand was burning.

It hurt so much.

It hurts.

"It hurts."

"It's going to be ok."

Pain explodes and blisters through my shattered body.

Pain begins to fade.

And then I'm lost.

…

I find myself being carried, low voices surrounding me.

I smell smoke.

I smell perfume.

I smell medicine and disinfectant.

I fall away again.

…

The rest of it was all dreams, dreams that never seemed to end.

They were all nightmares.

They were all about James and Victoria.

They were all about blood and death.

I was losing myself, not just my consciousness, but my sanity. It was dripping away with dream after dream of a kind smile beneath red eyes, of a promise that I wouldn't stay human long, of an offering of a world where I would be special and different and there would be no Isabella to take any eyes off of me.

But all I wanted was a world without all this pain.

That was how I knew I was waking up; the pain.

First it was simple, pinpricks, remembering Tyler's backing off and Bella leaving, Dad yelling at me and Mom letting me stay with him. Then I remember Isabella walking into the ballet studio and I saw her about to die. After that I began to feel the physical pain: my legs both ached and itched at the same time. My brain felt like it was melting from the drugs and the concussion. I wrinkled my nose: there was something stuck to it, hard plastic and tape. My right hand itched too, I could feel a wound stretch as I began to lift it toward my chest, realizing I was too hot and suddenly feeling a blanket far too heavy on my struggling chest.

"Gen?_ Genny?_" I blinked open my eyes as someone grabbed my hand and held it far too tightly.

"Geroff." I mumbled, shaking my head slowly as I broke through the fog. I could tell I was in a hospital, now. Weirdly, it just made me think of Bella's accident and then it made me think of Tyler again. I closed my eyes.

"Genny, stay with me." The voice whispered. "Just a little bit, ok? Wait for the doctors?"

I opened my eyes again, letting them focus on a face. "Dad?" I squeaked.

"There you are." He said, smiling. "How you feeling?"

It wasn't a question I could really answer with words, so I avoided it.

"Where's Isabella?" I said, the only question I could think of.

"She's fine. Hurt like you: what were you two thinking? But she woke up two days ago. She'll be ok." Dad smiled at me, his eyes a little too bright. "And she's coming back to Forks. She said you and Edward talked some sense into her."

"That doesn't sound like me." I said, falling back into the easiest kind of lie; the joke.

Dad accepted it, laughing. "Sense? No. I'm assuming Edward did most of the work?" I nodded, just one little movement of my sore head. "But the doctors are here, ok?" I looked over to see people walking in. "I'm gonna go talk to your mom, ok? She'll want to know you're up. She just went for a coffee."

"Mmm." I said noncommittally. I wasn't sure which I wanted less: mom or doctors. As they swarmed around and started asking questions, I began to relax. I had one advantage, you see, and it was an advantage that was going to come in _very_ handy when it came to telling my story.

The advantage? The one thing that came naturally to Genevieve Elizabeth Swan?

I can lie like the dickens.

So I did. I told them I didn't remember. I told them I didn't remember coming to Phoenix and acted surprised that I was even in Phoenix. I said I didn't remember talking to Edward. I said I didn't remember Isabella falling and knocking both of us out a freaking window. I even laughed and made a joke about not being surprised to hear it. And I said all of this so well that I began to believe it, began to understand that maybe my messed up brain had been dreaming just a little bit more then I'd thought. Maybe the idea that James and Victoria were just people who'd seeped into my dreams, maybe that was the truth and everything the doctors were telling me was the truth. I know the mind is a crazy thing. So why shouldn't that be true? Why shouldn't I ignore my nightmares and the memories of red, hungry eyes and go on living as sane individual?

I can lie to my doctors.

Why shouldn't I lie to myself?

…

Mom came in a little after the doctors left. I think she'd been waiting in the hallway for the go ahead because she rushed in and then hovered awkwardly, not knowing how to talk to me. Her eyes were a little teary, which was nice, but she didn't seem to understand that someone who has literally just woken from a coma might not be up for much small talk... though apparently her new husband was now some big athlete, so that was interesting enough. I decided to remember it, just in case I was ever stuck in a room with her again.

Mom finally left after about an hour of this, but only to go fetch my sister. I wondered briefly where Dad had gone off to and then Isabella was wheeled in and found myself trembling as I realized I even now could believe that she was alive. There had been so much blood… and her screams. I screwed my eyes tightly shut and felt Mom take my good hand, giving it a squeeze. I opened my eyes to find teardrops dancing on my eyelashes: one escaped and Mom wiped it away.

"My poor babies." She said. "Do you want more painkillers? I can call the nurse."

I shook my head. "Can… can I just talk to Isabella quick?"

Mom chuckled. "I always forget you call her that." I turned my head away, trying to hide my irritation. "Bella, I'm going to go tell Edward where you are, ok hon?"

"Ok." Bella said quietly. She hadn't looked up from her hands in the entire time she'd been in the room. I smiled at her as Mom left the room.

"Feeling a little guilty, baby sister?" I said weakly. My jaw made it a little hard to talk, the wires in my mouth even more so, but it had healed enough that I was able to pronounce words well enough to be understood.

Isabella looked up and her gaze was tortured. "What do you remember?"

I opened my mouth and then closed it, considering. Then I gave her the answer I was dreading: I held up my hand. She flinched sharply away from me and looked about to cry.

"Hard to forget something like this." I said softly.

That was vague enough, right? If vampires are imaginary she can take that as falling out the window or whatever it was that really happened… Of course, I did know that, once the gauze came off and I got to see whatever mark was on my hand, the truth was going to come bulldozing straight back into my brain but for now I could tell myself that Bella was wincing at the memory of pushing me out a window.

"Well… what do you have to say about it?" I demanded, starting to get angry. My sister still wasn't saying anything.

"That I'm sorry." She said. "I'm so, so sorry, Gen. And it won't happen again."

"Well." I said. I lowered my hand but found myself staring at it, wondering…no! Lie to yourself, Genevieve. Lie as long as your effing can! I ripped my gaze away and glare at Bella. "What won't happen again, Isabella?" My teeth ground together in anger and I saw stars as the pressure flashed through my broken jaw.

Bella opened her mouth, resolve weakened at the pain in my face, but at that moment Edward appeared in the door. If only I'd kept my eyes on her, I might have gotten the truth! But I looked up to give him my fiercest scowl and Bella followed my gaze.

"Edward." She said with a smile, all concern for me flying out a window. Now if only I could figure out if I had done the same.

"Isabella Swan." I called, raising my hand again and seeing Edward's gaze narrow on the bandage. They knew, they both knew, oh, crap, it's true it's true—NO. No. Wait. Just wait, Genevieve. I closed my eyes and focused my will on breathing evenly, knowing I was moments away from hyperventilating myself into a complete meltdown. "Bella." I said slowly and carefully. "You need to tell me."

They watched me for a moment, Isabella's eyes wide and sad and Edward's suspicious and guilty. I don't know what they saw: a girl with crazy eyes? A traumatized victim of their mistakes? But whatever it was, they weren't going to tell me.

Edward slowly shook his head, getting the same old pitying look he'd given me so long ago in Port Angeles.

And Bella bit her lip, reached out a hand for his, and raised the other pleadingly before her.

"I can't, Gen. It's too dangerous." She told me.

She glanced uncertainly up at Edward and I did too, finding him staring at me as though he was trying to see straight into my soul, to find out if I was worthy or not, if I could be trusted.

Dick.

I'll get you yet, I thought, shoving all my hatred for Edward Cullen into one glare.

This was not the best strategy.

"Gen, just forget it." Bella was pleading. "It's better if you just don't think about it."

I turned back to her and stared at her, incredulous and disgusted. "You're keeping secrets, aren't you, Bella?" I raised the hand again, wondering what I was going to find beneath the clean white bandage. The lie was slipping away with everything Bella said. "Edward's secrets."

Isabella stared at me. "Gen…"

"I'm your _sister!"_ I yelled. Pain washed over me, mind blackening pain that made my eyes roll back into my head. When I came back, Edward was beside me, jabbing at the call button.

A nurse ran in and slipped something into my iv and I began to slip away, feeling her check over my injuries, feeling another hand gently tuck a string of hair behind my ear. Bella…

"You're my sister." She whispered. She struggled for words for a moment and when she spoke next she spoke as though her words explained everything…

"But he's _Edward_."

...

Author's note!

Thanks again for all the great comments. I've actually written a one shot, what could happen for this chapter. Will be publishing after a couple more tweaks. One more chapter for Book 1! Wheeee!

IzzytheNinja: Yay! I'm always happy to hear people like my story. And confused: especially when they think I'm funny. But Yay! Hope you keep reading :)

Guests: Haha. Way to put me in a conundrum. As I was writing, I reeeeeally started to want Gen to turn... but... doesn't go with my planned storyline. I did write a one shot of her turning that I might continue as a seperate storyline if I have time. trying to get more of SWBL done first.

cpjjgj: Humph. :(

Let me know what ya'll think!


	16. Chapter 16

_Author's Note: Last chapter of book 1! Will be taking a couple weeks off while I get more into the next book. Hope you enjoy ;)_

_..._

I was on the couch, my legs propped up on a couple pillows and my wrist wrapped with a fresh bandage. To be honest, it was basically healed—the bandage was not nearly as necessary as my twin pair of casts—but it still freaked me out to look at the neat pink lines on either side of my arm, a matching set of evidence for the lies I was still trying to convince myself of.

Things were getting better: mentally at least. I'd had a complete meltdown the first time they took the bandage off and I saw bitemarks. I'd spent the next three nights staring in mirrors, looking for a sign that my eyes were turning red. Even now I wasn't sure, wasn't completely convinced that it wasn't going to suddenly take me.

Part of me knew that Bella could have put that fear to rest but I wasn't about to forgive her and she wasn't about to trust me. Her love for Edward and my hate for him put us more and more at odds every day. Every time she glanced at me and didn't spill the truth about what happened, she was condemning me to another day of mental doubt. Every time I thought about telling the truth, about tell everyone that Dick 'the Dickhead' Dickface had been involved in my accident and that there had been no fall… well, I was thinking about sending the love of her life to jail.

So now, lying on the couch with a blanket thrown over my casts and a pair of overlarge shorts, my itchstick never far from my hand and the tv remote glued to the other, I was ignoring the two lovebirds as they prepared to go.

As they prepared to go to prom.

You'd expect me to say that I saw it as trivial now, but I didn't. If the spring dance had almost gotten me a kiss _and_ a date with Tyler Crowley, then prom would _surely_ have gotten me at least_ one_ of those things. As it was, I hadn't even seen him. I'd only recently been able to take a plane ride home and had been resting from the effort ever since. A pile of homework and cards was scattered around my couch, the product of a lot of visits from the kids at school, none of which had lasted long before I was too exhausted to talk lucidly.

On the plus side, I was apparently very funny at this point and a lot of people made sequel visits to see what I would say next time. I was very popular. It was very odd.

With a yawn, I began flipping through channels, searching in vain for a good movie. I really wanted to watch Princess Bride again, but to get that I would have to call someone in. Isabella, her dick boyfriend, and Dad were all right out in the hallway but… I didn't feel up to dealing with them. The first two for obvious reasons and the last because he apparently had no idea how to deal with having a teenage daughter in the house 24/7 and was becoming very annoying with his sudden desire for small talk.

"Gen."

I glanced up and found Edward peering over the back of the couch, giving me a polite smile.

"What?"

"Want anything?" He asked. He'd been a lot nicer to me ever since I'd been attacked, probably afraid I would tell everyone what he was involved in.

"No. Go away." I continued flipping channels.

"Gen," this was my exasperated dad.

"It's ok." Edward muttered.

"I'm injured." I declared. "Injured, bored people can say whatever they want."

"Oh?" Dad said, starting to sound a little angry. "Why's that?"

"Because they can't be grounded." I said cheekily.

"That's a very nice phone you've got there." Dad replied.

I said nothing.

"Gen." Dad said.

"Yes?" I tried to keep my tone nice.

"Don't you want to see your sister?"

"Ok."

So they had a little parade in front of the television. Dad took pictures and then he made me sit up and take a picture with Isabella too. I fought off the suggestion that Edward get in with both of us but I think he may have sneaked in behind me. Afterwards, Isabella gave me a teary hug and Edward insisted on me telling him if there was a movie I wanted put in. I waited until my dad had left the room to get me my dumbbells—gramma style, two pound things: I couldn't lift much more—and then I chucked two pillows at the dick's head.

They left and my dad followed after, checking in five times to make sure I was ok being left alone. I might have asked him to stay: I was honestly terrified of being left by myself, no matter where I was. But he was going grocery shopping for me so I couldn't really say no. And my brain must have been getting used to the fear because the next thing I knew I was waking up to someone arguing on my front porch.

As I scooped up my wheelchair from beside the couch, I recognized one of the voices and found my stomach begin to twist uncomfortably. Tyler… I hadn't seen him since Spring Dance. We'd texted, sure, but every time there'd been an opening to invite him over I'd found some excuse not to see him. So why was he on my doorstep? And who was he yelling at?

I lifted myself into the wheelchair, thankful again that the casts around my calves both ended below the knee: at least I had a semblance of mobility. It was still a nightmare trying to maneuver around the couch and through the doorway without hitting myself. By the time I got myself within reach of the front door I'd begun to form a theory about the second angry voice on my front porch and I was now incredibly uncomfortable.

Jacob Black and Tyler Crowley at my door… And Tyler was the more unwanted. Could life get any weirder?

Oh, wait… I was attacked by a vampire. I hesitated for a second as I absorbed that thought. Yep… Yep… Yeah, life cannot be weirder.

I opened the door and the boys turned to stare at me awkwardly, their mouths open from whatever they'd about to say as they realized I had been able to hear them. I wished for a second that I'd had a free moment to actually listen to the words: I'd been concentrating so hard on not reinjuring myself that their actual argument had been lost. I got a good hint, though, as Tyler regained his composure, turned to me, and gave a disarming smile.

"Hey, Gen? Feeling better?" He barely gave me the chance to nod before he continued. "I'm here to pick up Bella for prom."

I opened my mouth to give a snarky reply but found I was dumfounded by his words. All that came out was a strangled, doubtful sound. I turned to look at Jacob to see if I'd heard right. We shared a look that, plain as day, said 'seriously?' Then Jacob shook his head, took a step back, and let out a deep sigh that said he'd seen this coming a mile away.

Then he punched Tyler in the jaw and clear off my porch.

…

Time stopped for a moment and then I found myself staring at the spot Tyler had just been while Jacob waved his hand around, hopefully not fighting off the pain of broken fingers. I turned and looked Jacob over critically, finally deciding he looked ok as I realized he was grinning proudly at me.

I shook my head and backed up a little to make room in the doorway. "Wanna come in, Jake?"

Jacob moved to walk past me and that's when Tyler chose to start yelling. He said something about sueing and about the cops and I think he threatened to tell my dad. Rolling my eyes, I motioned Jacob past me and, as soon as he was inside, I rolled onto the porch and stared Tyler straight in the eye and held up my cellphone.

"Blackmail." I said.

He looked at me for a minute, not understanding. Then his face turned scarlet as he remembered the party at his house and the drinking and Couch's dry season rules and my photos.

"You wouldn't… I thought we were friends, Swan." He raged.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't stay friends with douches, Crowley."

Then I wheeled myself back inside and slammed the door.

"Well that was interesting." Jacob said, looking around my front hallway awkwardly as I turned to look up at him expectantly.

"Indeed." I said. I turned away and headed back for the tv, finding that I'd only missed the first half of my movie. "What are you doing down here, Jake?" I asked as I started to lift myself back onto the couch.

"Dad sent me up here to give Bella a message." Jacob grumbled, coming over to hold my chair steady as he saw me start to slip. "Figured I'd check on you first."

"Does he really think there's any chance Bella would dump Edward?" I asked wistfully. Jacob gave me a funny look but, man, would life be easier without that creep. And less painful, I thought, easing my legs up onto the couch cushions.

"I don't know. And how did you know?" Jacob wrinkled his nose at the obtuseness of his question but I just shook my head.

"Billy and I talked about it too. And I have my own reasons." I looked at my hands for a second. Jacob came over and sat casually in my wheel chair, lounging carelessly, his long limbs sticking out in all different directions: the kid had grown a bit, now that I thought about it. Almost could pass for sixteen year old, if I was being nice. "Do you know his? Reasons?"

"No. No one tells me anything." Jacob glanced over at the tv. "I should get going, though. If I don't deliver his message, my car doesn't get finished."

"Oh, bribery, huh?" I teased.

"Says the blackmailer." Jacob laughed.

"Says the… punch…er?" I winced.

Jacob sat up abruptly, indignant. "Better than attacking my own sister."

I laughed. "It was a glass of juice!"

"Cranberry juice. That stuff stains, Genevieve." He shook his head, looking stern.

"It was juice!"

"And it stains!"

I bit my lip, fighting the laughter in order to talk. "Well, you… um… you…"

"Yes?" Jacob smiled smugly, watching me search for another accusation.

"You…" I paused, thinking. "You punched a guy."

"You said that."

"For no reason."

Jacob frowned, glancing over at the front door. "I had a reason."

"What?" I looked at him curiously. He shook his head and I sat up, grabbing one of the pillows under my feet and tossing it at him. "What?"

"Nothing." He said, but I'd made him smile again. "Smoker."

"Oh, come on! One time." I tossed another pillow at him. "Who told you?"

"No one…" He chuckled, seeing that I was trying to come up with his faults again. "We make a good pair, let's leave it at that."

"Ha."

I tossed my last pillow at him and then fell back onto the couch, abruptly tired from the excitement. With a groan, Jacob stood and stretched his long limbs. Then he started gathering my pillows and slipping them back where they belonged, under my poor legs.

"I should head out then." Jacob sighed. "They'll already be in the dance by now."

"Do you have to?" I asked, blinking a little sleepily as I looked up at him.

"I promised my dad." He steadied the pillows and glanced over at me. "That alright?"

"You could just wait here until she gets back." I pointed out. "So you don't have to deal with Edward?"

Jacob bit his lip, considering. Then he shook his head.

"No. I should go." He scooped my blanket off the floor and tossed it over the back of the couch, looking around to see if there was anything else I needed. "Wish me luck."

"Yeah." I sighed. There was very little hope that Isabella was going to listen. "Bye."

"See you."

He walked away and I began to pout as I heard the front door open and close. Then I tossed my blanket as hard as I could across the room and watched it fall uselessly onto the floor.

"Gawdammit." I muttered. "I am so bored."

I leaned back and stared at the ceiling, wondering if I should just slide my butt up the stairs and call it a day. Dad would be back soon but I wasn't really hungry. And he wasn't going to hang around anyway; he was going to be looming around the front room waiting for Dick and Isabella to get back, probably checking his handgun every few minutes just to make a point.

Whatever, I'll make it a movie night.

I swung myself off the couch again and hopped into the wheel chair. Wishing I had the energy to just use some stupid crutches, I turned myself around and began moving through the house. I frowned as I entered the hallway—I hadn't realized before how dark it got in here. Usually the three members of my little family left enough lights on that every part of the house had some small bit of illumination. Now I couldn't see anything and I was too lazy to go back down the hall only to spend ten minutes trying to find the light switch in the dark.

Besides, it was good for me, right? To face my fear?

I kept telling this to myself, not even bothering to switch on the light in the kitchen as I grabbed popcorn from 'Gen's drawer'-one low drawer next to the sink that Isabella through random food in—and scooted over to the microwave. There was enough light coming in from through the windows that I found the right buttons and got my popcorn started. Then I wheeled over to the table and stared out into the forest in our backyard.

The yard was one of my sister's favorite places to sit but I was now growing to hate it. After my… after what might have happened out on the lonely road by LaPush, all I could think of was what might be hiding in those trees. What could catch my scent if I stepped out to enjoy the rain and the cool wind in my hair. What might be watching me, glaring at me with jealous red eyes… I'd heard James scream and some primeval part of me had registered that he'd died. But Victoria? The redhead with scarlet eyes? Who knew?

I felt the fear begin to settle in, begin to force itself into my spine and numb my limbs with a shiver. The world was so dark and cold and scary and my home was dark and close and lonely. And sure, I was fighting, I was determined to break through all this but… but sometimes I wondered what I had to look forward to when I did.

My sister? My sister who would choose the boy she just met, a dick I did not trust, over me?

My dad? Who would never understand me?

My mom? Ha.

My friends? Sure, but they would never understand why I kept looking over my shoulder into shadows. Which brought me back to Isabella, who understood but ignored it.

Tyler? I sighed. Paul? Both of them had only let me down lately. Paul hadn't messaged me since that night, probably thinking I'd stood him up. Tyler was just a big flaky jerk. With a black eye. Ha.

So.

I heard the beeping of the microwave and groaned as I registered the smell of burnt popcorn seeping into my nose. I got lost in my thoughts far too easily these days. Awkwardly, I pushed myself over and retrieved my partially ruined snack. I didn't bother to open it, just set it in my lap and began wheeling back to the living room, still making my way through darkness.

So. I thought, going back to my reverie. So I'm in this by myself. And I can't fight it off: if those creatures are real and if they come back for me, I will have no chance. I looked down at my hand as I reach the door to the living room and the light of the only lit lamp in the house. Slowly, I made my way back onto the couch where I opened the popcorn and laid it to rest on the seat of my wheelchair, ignoring the kernels that spilled out and stained the seat with butter.

Carefully, I began to unwind the gauze I had wrapped around my right wrist. I was biting my lip by the time it was done, steeling myself against the sight and telling myself it wouldn't be how I remembered, that it was only a glass cut and my medicated eyes had imagined a bite. Now that I saw it, ages later, it would be clear that all my worrying would be for nothing. Vampires don't exist and the only thing I need to worry about it getting ready and healed for basketball next year.

The bandage fell off.

My shoulders slumped.

Clear as day, on both the back of my wrist and the front, standing out across the faint blue of veins, were the marks of the vampire bite, hidden above a matched set of angry purple scars from grabbing a shard of glass. They were silvery pink and pale and hard to see in the dim light but they were a matched pair of bite marks that no amount of arguing could deny.

My memories are real.

Vampires are real.

And I have two choices…

The front door creaked open and the light was flipped on, breaking my thoughts again. I turned to see my dad standing in the front hall way with a giant bag of groceries, wrinkling his nose as the smell of burnt popcorn hit him, too.

"Made yourself a snack?" he asked.

"Yep."

"Mmm." Dad stomped into the house, leaving the door open behind him. "Well, you've got a visitor."

"Yeah?" I sat up a bit, unable to quite see the front door or who might be standing in it.

"Just me." Jacob called, sounding distracted. He appeared soon after, lugging another giant bag of groceries. "Is this all for you, Gen?"

"Sugar is very good for mending bones." I defended myself.

"Charlie bought you three kinds of potato chips." Jacob replied, peering into one of the bags.

"Those are for Isabella." I lied. I paused a moment, checking that I could still hear my dad messing around in the kitchen. "You talk to Bella?" I said quietly.

"Yeah." He sighed. "And…"

"Nothing." I realized. "Yeah, I didn't think she'd listen."

"I'm just happy she wasn't mad." Jacob said. He disappeared for a second and then came back to sit on the floor by my couch so that we could talk privately. "It was a really weird message."

"Meh." I shrugged. "We're weird people."

"He's been really worried about you." Jacob said, after watching me get lost in thought for a minute or two. "My dad, I mean."

"What?" I swung around on the couch, scooping up the popcorn bag so that I could rest my feet on the chair.

"Well, you were on the phone with him when you went AWOL for your sister." Jacob pointed out. I shrugged and began to absentmindedly eat the popcorn, wincing at the aftertaste after every bite. "They all thought you'd been grabbed by that animal or something."

I kept my face very still. "I'd forgotten about that…" I said slowly. Forgotten—how could I? It was very hard to keep my emotions off of my face as I realized that if I'd listened to Billy and stayed in the car I would be at prom right now or, even better, would have been the one who got to punch Tyler. Instead of dwelling on this I patted the couch next to me, "Come on up, Jacob." I said crabbily. "I need someone to eat this popcorn for me before I make myself sick."

Jacob laughed. "Always in a good mood, aren't you, Genevieve?" He hopped on the couch and snatched the bag from me, spilling a good measure across my lap.

"Yeah. That's me. Happy, happy." I scowled and began brushing popcorn onto the couch and floor.

"It's nice." Jacob said, munching on the popcorn. "I don't have to pretend that I'm in a good mood."

"Oh!" I said, a new realization hitting me. "You had to go see Bella be romantic with Dickface."

Jacob chuckled as he winced. "Yep."

"Ugh." I said.

"Ugh." He agreed.

"I could punch her for you." I offered. "Fair's fair."

As I said this, a new bag of popcorn dropped into my lap and I looked up sheepishly to find my dad glaring down at me. I mouthed 'sorry' and he shook his head before stomping out of the room.

I turned to find Jacob laughing at me. I narrowed my eyes and he immediately threw his hands up. "Wait, wait! Don't kill me!" He said, laughing even harder.

"Give me one reason why not." I challenged.

"I brought you a movie!" Jacob said, hurriedly pulling it out of one of his ginormous sweatshirt pockets. "_Donnie Darko_! It's good!"

"Well, what are you waiting for then?" I demanded, still scowling at him. "Put it in!"

"I will!" Jacob laughed and hurried over to the tv.

"Faster!" I said. I tossed a handful of popcorn I'd taken from the crack in the couch and it landed in his hood.

Confused, Jacob itched at the back of his neck and looked around. I smiled innocently back and he went back to putting in the dvd. As he stood to come back to the couch, his hand went back to his neck and I carefully began looking for the remote, purposely not looking at him as I started the movie.

"Gen?" Jacob asked, watching the title screen pop up.

"Yes?"

"Why is there popcorn in my hood?"

"Because I missed your face." I said simply. Then I grabbed another handful from the couch and tossed it straight at him, bursting into a fit of giggles as it bounced off his nose.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Jacob growled. He grabbed the forgotten bag of burnt popcorn and practically bounced across the couch to hold it over my head.

I winced as the movement jolted my legs. "Ow! Ow! Injured person! Injured person!"

"Oh, shoot, sorry." Jacob lowered the popcorn and I kept my face down so he wouldn't see my eyes on his hands; '_just a little lower'_. "Gen, are you ok?" He bent down, trying to see my face. '_Perfect_.'

"Yep!" I exclaimed happily. I grinned at the surprised look on his face as I yanked the bag from his hands, reached up as far as I could, and ripped it open above his head.

Jacob's jaw dropped and he sat there staring as I began giggling even more uncontrollably then before. Then he began grabbing fistfuls of burnt popcorn from random crevices in his clothes and the couch and tossing them at me, bouncing several into my mouth as I begged him to stop.

"No, no, no!" I shrieked. I began throwing them back, but now that I didn't have the 'injured' card to pull, he was definitely winning. For every kernel I tossed he found another handful until finally almost all the popcorn was scattered between me and the side of the couch and he was forced to reach across me to grab some, his other hand reaching to pull down my arms as I tried to protect myself.

I squealed and tried to pull away, managing to make him lose his balance. Jacob dropped the fistful of popcorn and caught himself against the side of the couch, looking up carefully before he started to move, making sure I was ok. I tensed myself, suddenly not laughing as I realized that Jacob Black was leaning over me with his face inches from mine.

His eyes were wide and startled as they stared into mine and I took a sharp breath as his gaze moved over my face, checking again that there was no sign of pain. He was so nice. And kind. And thoughtful.

But I'm not.

So I shoved him off the couch and dumped the fresh bag of popcorn over his head.

…

We decided to actually watch the movie after that. It did turn out to be pretty good, but not quite the pick-me-up the two of us were needing. I checked my phone and found that it was only around 7:30 so I sent Jacob to slide in _Beauty and the Beast. _

I smiled as the familiar music started to play and leaned my head back, humming along as the effort of my 'fight' with Jacob began to catch up with me. I began to squirm a little, trying to find a comfortable spot on the couch where I could prop up my feet but still have room to lay down. Eventually, Jacob piled up the pillows in the middle of the couch for me and I leaned against them with my legs hanging over the armrest.

Sometime after that I drifted off, still humming along with Belle as I fell into dreams. I don't know how long I slept but when I woke up the house was quiet and dark and the tv had been turned off.

The thoughts I'd been wrestling with earlier began to return as I gained consciousness, not sure at first where I was, only knowing that my legs and arm and face hurt and that it was dark. I realized pretty quickly that it was the same old pain, but the subject had resurfaced and I could shake loose the dark thoughts from my tired mind.

What could I do if vampires came for me?

I mulled it over again, but came to the same conclusion. I had two choices.

The first choice had been offered and then lost. Become a vampire. Gain the strength and coldness to fight off the monsters and keep them from doing any more damage. Gain the ability to protect myself. Especially because I had no one to do it for me.

Second choice.

Die.

I pulled away from the thought but I knew it was more reasonable. Another vampire wasn't likely to offer me the choice of transformation like James had, especially if it was the jealous Victoria. And from what I'd felt in my wrist, after James had bitten me, the transformation was going to be just as painful as a death by angry vampire… So what then? Start carrying poison in my purse? Or a gun? And be ready to end myself before they can? What kind of hopeless thought was that? And yet that seemed like the best way, the best end, the thing to hope for if a vampire found me.

Become a vampire.

Or die a quick death.

I shuddered and shooed the thoughts away, longing for something else to think about.

I considered getting some food, but I was too comfortable to move, still in a half dream, half-awake state. The house was a little cold—I could feel a bit of a breeze on my nose—but my body was wrapped quite nicely in a blanket and Jacob was warm where I rested against him.

I almost moved at this realization, that Jacob had fallen asleep along with me and we'd somehow knocked all the pillows to the floor(not a surprise; I am a flailer). Now we leaned against each other, my head on his shoulder, his head against the top of mine. And I knew I should move away but he was so warm and safe…

Thoughts of death, of vampires and red eyes, of fangs and broken bones began to fade away as I thought of Jacob. Thoughts of my sister and parents and Edward didn't seem so bad either, really. Darkness was ok. My broken heart was ok. I laughed and felt Jacob stir beside me.

"Mmm?" He said, breaking out of a snore.

"Jake?"

"Gen?"

I snuggled closer to him and he yawned, wrapping a warm around my shoulder so that I fit better against him.

"Jacob, I know we're not best friends or anything…"

"Mmm." He was falling back asleep already. I could tell.

"But…" I hesitated before I continued, "…but thanks for punching Tyler."

"Anytime."

"Wanna go after Dick next?" I said, peeking up at him in the dim light.

Jacob smiled sleepily. "Maybe later."

"Ok." I yawned and smiled, feeling his breathing even out as he drifted off beside me.

And it was ok.

I was ok.


	17. Chapter 17: Book 2

(Book 2)

...

September 13.

Best day of the year.

Of course my sister would ruin it.

She'd been ruining everything since she moved up to Forks: my relationships, my health, my… well, she'd helped my grades. There's a lot more time to study when your crush decides he likes your sister better then you and then a friend of the family clocks him across the face causing a rather large divide between what friends you have left… But my point is that Isabella was not making things pleasant for me.

September 13 is my birthday. Our birthday. My attention stealing sister couldn't even let me have that day to myself. When she wasn't here, it was ok: no one knew about my fraternal twin and I'd make cupcakes and people would eat the cupcakes and no one would make jokes about whether I'd remembered Bella's birthday, hahaha.

September 13.

Normally the best day of the year.

My eighteenth birthday?

A bit of a letdown.

…

I got to school early. Walking was still a bit awkward for me: physical therapy had helped a ton, but I got sore and tired enough that I liked to leave myself some time to walk to class. I also had started taking a ride with Bella and her boyfriend, usually falling asleep in his car on the way home. They both said they didn't mind me being there, but I didn't believe them and therefore did all I could to keep going with them. Any way to wedge myself between Isabella and Edward—and by 'Edward' I mean Dick—was going to be a priority, whether it was a pleasant experience or not. Not worrying about falling asleep while driving while also being a third wheel to their creepy couple-ness? Win, win.

The morning of our birthday, Isabella drove to school in her big rusty, monster of a nuisance she called a truck while I rolled the window down a centimeter at a time, trying to see at which point she would draw the line and tell me to close it. She ignored me the whole time, eventually developing a tic in her jaw, but never actually saying anything about why she was starting to shiver. Because of my sister's ridiculous patience, we reached school without incident.

When we got out, we headed across the parking lot and I was forced into polite interaction with one of my many nemeses. Ignoring my glare in his direction, Isabella greeted her creep of a boyfriend with a scowl.

"Hey, Gen." He greeted me, raising a hand with a small package wrapped in exactly my favorite shade of pink.

"Thanks, Edward." I grumbled. I walked away wondering how he did that and how low he would sink to get me back on his side—I'd been on his side for all of one night last spring, when we'd been searching for Bella in the deadly streets of Port Angeles—With a bored shrug, I tossed the present into the depths of my backpack and wandered away as Dick's sister began arguing with Bella about the value of birthdays.

I found my old basketball friends—Cass, Annalise, Liz, Alicia, and Krissi—hanging out by the picnic tables. We spent a while joking about how much they'd hate me if I didn't get back to normal in time for the season and how I was their only hope for a championship—as if we had any hope of that. Then the bell rang and I had Annalise grabbing my bag under the pretense of playing keep-away but really just being a sweetheart and not making me carry the damn thing all the way to Spanish.

The day went on. And on. And on and on and on. There were only two noticeable classes: English and APCalc.

English was always interesting because I got to see the everpresent struggle in Tyler Crowley's head as he tried to decide if he hated me or was now in love with me because I had rejected him. Interesting. And mildly depressing. It always ended with him staring sullenly at his notebook and me smirking at the back of his head.

Calculus was the only class I had with Isabella. It was also, therefore, the only class I had with Edward Cullen. The two of them sat in the back, always leaving a spot open for me. I usually walked past without looking. One time I'd raised my right arm, the wrist with the scar that may or may not have been a vampire bite mark, depending on whether I'd hallucinated or not, and pointed to the scar before making my way to the front of the classroom. Bella had looked guilty and depressed and had been suffocatingly nice to me for the next two weeks and so I'd refrained from reminding her of the injury afterward. It had become clear after that that no matter how bad she felt, she wasn't going to help me figure out what was or was not real.

Ugh.

Sisters.

On my birthday, Calc was a bit more interesting. As I walked in, I instinctively pulled my sleeve over my right hand, even though the long, tight black glove I'd started wearing had already hidden the scar from her view and mine. As I thought of this, my left hand went to my face and passed over the invisible line where my jaw had been cracked. My limp from two broken, healing legs became a little more noticeable as I began to think about it and suddenly I couldn't sit down fast enough.

I slid into the first desk at the back of the class and pulled out the textbook, letting my long brown curls fall over my face as I pretended to read over the homework. I felt other students walking past, not a one looking over, not one noticing my self-conscious pose. I was just a girl.

Just another scarred up, sad eyed girl.

Nobody important.

Too late I realized that my seat at the back meant I would be beside my sister. Sure enough, I looked up and found the two of them to my right, both looking carefully at the board as Edward passed my sister a note and the teacher started collecting homework. I was still looking when Isabella looked down to read it and I was still looking when she turned to frown at me.

I scowled back and went back to hiding behind my hair and picking at the fingers of my glove. This lasted a few minutes and then a bit of paper landed on my book. My eyebrows furrowed as I studied the neatly folded triangle. Then, curious, I lowered it onto my lap and picked it apart so that it sat open in my lap.

'_I forgot to tell you, happy birthday! –Bella.'_

I bit my lip, irritated. She didn't forget. She just cared more about getting people to forget her birthday then she did about remembering she had a sister. She'd always cared more about staying unnoticed then she did about noticing me…. A bit of a smile tugged at my lips. I turned the paper over and scrawled my own message, refolding it and tossing it back.

'_Thanks, Isabella. BTW I'm going to invite everyone over for a joint party on Sat. :)__'_

I could feel the horror on her face as she read my message. Soon the paper was returned, my message scratched out thoroughly and hers written so quickly it had become illegible and she'd had to get Edward to rewrite it in his ridiculous, graceful scrawl.

'_No. No no no. And it's Bella.'_

I raised an eyebrow as my smile grew wider. I turned to give my sister an evil look but she was already handing Edward another note to toss at me. It landed neatly in my lap and said only one word.

'_NO.'_

I started giggling.

I turned to look at sister.

I smiled evilly.

The look on her face decided it: my joke was becoming reality. Mentally, I began planning a birthday party for my sister. I saw Edward wince and begin writing something to Bella: she paled as she read it, then nodded. I shrugged and turned away, bored now that I'd made my decision. At least Saturday would be interesting.

I walked to lunch with them, not my choice. Bella was filling my ears with bribery to get me to change my mind and Edward was laughing at us. I ended up saying I'd think about it, just to get her to leave me alone; torturing her wasn't enough to risk her dragging me over to sit with her and her friends, which would include both her dick boyfriend and his sister.

After I got away from Isabella, my day went by in a bit of a blur. There were a few 'happy birthday's but not much conversation: I was always pretty dead by the end of the day and people had started to learn that and, instead of trying to talk with me, my friends would be finding ways to keep the teachers from noticing me falling asleep in all my afternoon classes.

As I walked back to Bella's truck, I was yawning nonstop, swinging my backpack from my hand so that it barely missed dragging along the ground. Just as I caught sight of the truck, I suddenly found myself blinking down at the fairy-like sister of my nemesis.

"Gen!" She exclaimed. Edward's sister is the most ridiculously happy person.

In response, I yawned and tried to walk around her.

She cut me off again.

"Edward is driving Bella home." The Cullen girl said happily. "So you should come with me."

"Uggggggggh." I responded. I turned to see their Volvo but instead of getting in I walked up to it, slammed my head against the roof, and stood there slumped against her car. "I hate my life."

There was a very awkward pause.

"Um…?" The Cullen girl said.

"Is it open."

"Yes."

"Ok." I backed up far enough that I could open the door to the back, clambered in, and sprawled across the back of her car. There was a pillow back there and I fell asleep almost immediately, waking up to the sound of her voice calling my name again.

"Gen. Gen, we're here."

"Mmm." I sat up and looked around awkwardly. "Indeed."

"I'm Alice, by the way." She said with a grin, seeing me look at her as though seeing her for the first time.

"Hi." I rubbed at my eyes. "Um… Thanks for the ride. I'm… going to go get some caffeine in me."

"Sounds like a good idea." Alice laughed.

I stumbled out of the car and up the driveway, kicking Bella's truck as I passed it. When I got inside I found Bella and Edward sprawled in front of the tv watching _Romeo and Juliet. _Forcing myself not to comment on the idiocy of suicide over a three day romance, I stumped past them and into the kitchen to retrieve a can of Coke. Then, dragging my backpack along the floor so that it banged against my foot with every step, I made my way up to my bedroom and promptly fell asleep on top of my math book.

..

"Gen…. Hey, Genevieve." I smiled, despite myself. There was only one idiot I knew who was nice enough to call me my full name. "Genevieve, you up?"

"Why are you in my house." I mumbled. I sat up and found Jacob Black grinning back at me. "Why are you laughing at me."

For answer he just pointed to his cheek. I stood up, half falling off the bed as I made my way to my mirror where I found the words 'ATH IS FUN' printed backwards across my cheek.

"Oh, dude." I sighed. "I suppose I'm supposed to be headed downstairs now?"

"Our dads are waiting for you." Jacob laughed. "A surprise party for you and Bella. And Bella bailed."

I glanced over, smiling with feigned sympathy as I heard the regret in his voice. So he still wasn't over her, was he? Poor kid. Or whatever.

"You should just tell them I'm not coming." I told him. "You'd all have more fun without me anyway." Ignoring him, I walked over to my closet and started flipping through it, trying to find an outfit for the next day.

"Oh, come on, Genevieve. You know cards is more fun with a fourth." Jacob appeared next to me and somehow managed to sidle between me and my closet, edging me toward the door.

I threw my hands up in front of me, unable to stop him from backing me closer and closer to the steps. "Hey, now. Who says I want to play cards? It's my birthday, shouldn't it be my choice?"

"You haven't punched me yet. I'm taking that as a yes." Jacob said with a shrug.

"I don't punch people!"

Jacob laughed. "Sorry. Mixed you up with Paul again."

Ugh. Now he's bringing my ex into it?

"I am not like Paul!" I growled, shoving him lightly and laughing as I realized I'd made his point.

"True." Jacob said, watching me take a chance and start to dash past him back toward my closet—I had a hazy plan about locking myself in-, "With Paul I couldn't do this…"

He looped one arm around my waist just as I thought I was in the clear and easily threw me over his shoulder.

"Jacoooob." I whined, not quite awake enough to be angry. "Nooooo…"

"This seems safer than backing you all the way down the stairs." Jacob said apologetically, just in time to whack my head against the door frame.

"Nnnnnggghhooooow." I moaned.

"Sorry." Jacob said, shrugging and making my head throb again.

"You dooooooouche." I complained. "My heeeeeeeead."

"You'll live." Jacob laughed. I sighed deeply: he wasn't nearly as willing to leave me alone, not since our big popcorn fight and my regretful decision that he was the only decent guy I'd ever met. "Hey, Charlie."

"Dad!" I exclaimed, trying to twist around to see him without actually getting off of Jacob's shoulder. "Jacob killed me!"

My dad stared at me for exactly one second and then continued dealing out cards on the kitchen table. Jacob placed me next to his dad who gave me a big smile before adding my name to the score card he'd been filling out.

"What is it then? Hearts?" I grabbed up the cards my dad had dealt me and scooted a chair closer to the small table, sitting between our dads but on my own side. Jacob sat down across from me.

"Euchre." My dad said. "Need a reminder of the rules?"

"No…" I said slowly. "But I'm not so sure about the teams…"

"Hey, I've been playing more then you have." Jacob said, his puppy like face looking young again.

"Oh, come on, Jake." I scoffed. "You know as well as I do that your dad cheats."

"Your dad is the one who dealt me the worst hand possible." Jacob grumbled.

"Ok. Both our dads cheat." I looked sternly from one to the other. They just looked amused. "I don't like these teams."

"Gen, no offense…" Jacob trailed off as my evil eye turned on him.

"What." I demanded.

"Um… if anyone would be a good cheater—"

"It would be me?" I said. I considered this. "Ok, yes. But that still means its two cheaters against one cheater and you. And you're… you."

"I have a height advantage." Jacob replied, probably just to negate any insults at his age I had planned. It was my usual strategy of attack: after all, he was two years younger than Isabella and I.

"Which would be great if we were playing basketball…" I held back a wince—man, I missed basketball—but couldn't resist a grin at his retort.

"No, but I can see their cards!" Jacob snapped, waving his own cards around in emphasis and both our dads frowned and leaned back from the table to hide their hands.

"Ok. But how are you at bluffing?" I raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember the secret language we came up with for when to pass and when to take trump? Or when to put a bad card?"

"Secret language?" Jacob laughed. "You would just kick me under the table when you didn't want me to do something."

My dad, who had been smirking, let out a small laugh. "That's right: we stopped playing when you broke two toes on a table leg."

"We stopped playing because they started winning." Billy spoke up. I raised an eyebrow and he shook his head at me. "But not this time, Genny."

"Oh, we'll see." I looked down at my cards and had to hide a look of disappointment. As I studied them, the others continued talking. Apparently there was a baseball game later that night, something I'd forgotten due to homework and other distractions. I smiled slightly, listening to Jacob and his dad start to banter: it might actually be a good birthday. Maybe even good enough not to need a party.

Then we finished the game—Jake and I lost-and they got out their presents.

"This is for you." Jacob said, handing me a square package that was obviously a book. "This is for you and Bella."

"From Billy." I said, trying to look annoyed at the idea of giving 18 year old twins the same present. I was a little comforted that I knew I was Billy's favorite: and that Billy was still annoyed over Bella dating Edward. "Thanks, guys."

They watched as I ripped open the paper on Billy's present, wondering if it would be better or worse than my parents' gifts: a gift card to some fashionable store in Phoenix from my mom with a joke in the card that I had to visit now and a camera from my dad. My sister had given me a book with a title I couldn't even remember, much less a title that sparked my interest. Ignoring my annoyance at the lack of good gifts, I opened the small box in my hands and raised an eyebrow as I found a pair of dreamcatchers, each small enough to fit comfortably in my palm. I had to fake the smile: if only that was what I needed. My nightmares always came when I was awake.

Jacob's present was next and cheered me up a bit. It was a copy of 'Fixing Cars for Dummies'. I made a mental note to throw it in the glove compartment of my car, knowing that all it would ever be used for was a laugh. Still, I was only semi reluctant when giving him the quick thank you hug I knew he expected.

By the time Isabella came back from her visit with the Cullens, Jacob was conked out on the couch and my dad and Billy were too distracted by the game to notice her slipping into the house. I ignored her too: Jacob didn't need any encouraging in his crush and I knew Dad would've woken him up to wish happy birthday to his second daughter.

I found myself yawning soon after and within five minutes was following my sister up the stairs. A small hint of guilt prodded me to quietly open her door as I passed, to check if she was still up, but the room was dark and Bella was lying still on the bed.

Figuring at least I'd tried, I made my way upstairs and fell asleep the way I always did: researching legends about vampires and finding nothing that made any sense whatsoever.

...

Author's note:

So we begin again! Lot's more Jacob coming ;)

Also! For my alternate Gen/vampire storyline I've created a poll so check it out if you've got any interest in more writing from me. I am also working on a one shot, so there may be alternate updates but as I've gotten into 4 or 5 chapters of this book I figured I should publish.

Last! Created a tumblr so if you want to check out my pics or want to make pics to inspire me to write more check it out:

...

Blazingfire55: Yay! Glad you like it.

Guest: I thought about it, decided not to do it, wrote it just to see, and yep. Made me too happy to skip.

Taffyrose: Thanks! I'm actually really enjoying writing Gen's slow journey of finding out how messed up her world is. Hope you like what I've done so far...

cpjjgj: Jacob!

dream lighting: Haha yes. can't wait to get more edward/bella vs gen.

Guest: :))))))))

Guest: Good. My job is done.

January Lilly: I should probably watch the movies again but ugh. Though watching them and just taking notes how Gen would react would probably be a good exercise...

DAughterXBelikova1923: Yeah, Gen's got it rough. But she's more entertaining then.

LonnieLuz: yeah, I'm kinda building up the hatred. Because Gen needs somewher to go when she finally finds out the truth, y'know?

Taffyrose: Wow. Thank you! Just what I want to hear.

IzzyTheNinja: Yep. Writing this is actually making me more and more glad I don't have sister lol. But Bella... She really is not the best sibling. At all. Glad you still like it!


	18. Chapter 18

Considering all that had happened in the last year—my mom getting married, my sister moving up here, being kidnapped by vampires, being on speaking terms with Cullens—my summer and school year, the time I'd been taking to heal up, had been pretty uneventful. Over the next days, I wondered if we'd simply filled a quota of trouble for the year and our 18th birthday had marked the beginning of the next round of problems. And always, it centered around my baby sister Bella.

I woke up early the next morning, dressing lazily in a pair of jeans and loose orange blouse that brought out the highlights in my amber brown eyes. After a few seconds of frowning down at the sleeves—they ended just under my elbows and left my bite-scar open for everyone to see—I snatched up a thin red scarf, quickly folded it into three loops for a braid, and wound it around my wrist. Walking over to the mirror, I studied myself.

Not too bad. There was a yellow scarf that would have worked better, but, as it had been a gift from my mother, it was plugging up a crack in the wood around my only window. As I thought of it, I turned to study it, annoyed again at the bright cheery color. Then I shrugged and grabbed my backpack, throwing open my bedroom door to sprint loudly down the stairs.

I found Bella moping at the table, holding one arm close to her as she slowly at her bowl of cereal. Finding myself for once more awake then her, I practically danced around the kitchen, snatching everything I wanted for breakfast and tossing it on the table before finally shoving some bagels in the toaster.

"You look like you need coffee." I told my sister, glancing at her once before I turned to stare down into the toaster, watching the wires turn a hypnotic orange.

"No." She said softly. "It's a headache."

"Then take something." I grumbled: she sounded worried and I wanted no more involvement in whatever new drama she's gotten into. The last had gotten me two broken legs and, even worse, a visit to Phoenix.

Isabella sighed dramatically. I screamed and jumped as the toaster finished and I almost got a toasted bagel to the eye.

"Gen?" Bella asked me a minute later, watching me swear at a knife covered with clumpy cream cheese and a large chunk of bagel.

"What." I snapped. I smacked the bagel with the lump of cream cheese and then dropped the knife to pout at my sister.

"Will you drive?" She asked.

"Why." I shoved half the bagel in my mouth and frowned at the clock. Almost time to go.

"My… my arms a little sore, that's all." She stared down at her breakfast and refused to say anymore.

I drove the two of us to school in my car, an ugly white Chevy Cavalier with boredom engrained in every inch of its dingy existence. I glared at it in disgust, but then gave it a pat to apologize for making it carry such a lame passenger as Isabella. It seemed to accept the apology because it gave me no trouble on our journey.

I kept an eye on Bella whenever I could: Edward seemed distracted and I was still trying to figure out what exactly had gone wrong with her arm. So it was basically one long day of chatting with my friends while watching Isabella frowning at her arm. It was as I saw her check for the fifth time to see if he'd noticed her look of pain that I began to suspect he was somehow responsible for her injury. As I thought this, I saw Edward glance over at me and, seeing the look on my face as I watched my sister, he started watching her a bit more carefully.

And sure enough, the dick looked guilty.

After school I drove Isabella to her job, interrogating her about her day with no luck. She looked more worried than ever and my hints that she could tell me anything and that I'd noticed her boyfriend acting weird were met with only more silence. My sister got out of the car at the Newton's store, grabbed her bag, gave me a small smile of thanks before walking into work.

She hadn't said a single word.

But my luck was about to change.

I drove up to the house to find a silver Volvo waiting. Briefly, I considered driving past the house and finding some place to crash for a couple hours (This was after saying the f-word three times and sh** four times after that). Then I realized that it was the first time I'd had Edward alone since the night in Port Angeles. I pulled into the driveway and threw the car into park before it had fully stopped, suddenly incredibly eager to figure out what it had been about him that made me like him that one night, what was he like without Isabella clinging to his side.

I made my way up to the house with a bit more energy than was normal for me. Despite Isabella's worried mood, I was feeling rather happy. Actually, I had been since I'd woken up… maybe longer? I shrugged off wondering at the cause of it as I jerked open the front door and made my way into the front hall, finding the sound of some tv show of my dad's echoing through the house.

"Dad?" I called, making my way into the living room and feigning surprise as I caught site of the pale, handsome lump of idiot that was my sister's boyfriend. "Oh! Hey, Richard!"

Haha. Dick.

Edward closed his eyes and sighed tiredly.

My dad turned to frown at me. "Gen…"

"Yeah?"

"That's Edward." Dad said pointedly. He knew me well enough to know I'd done it on purpose: thankfully he hadn't yet realized why.

"Oh." I walked up to of the couch, leaning over the back to squint at Edward. "Oh, yeah. Hey, Edward."

"Hi, Gen." Edward said, the politeness a little bit forced. "How are you?"

Like he cared. All he cared about what Bella and he was slowly making her the same way about him. I narrowed my eyes: as annoying as my sister was, she was my sister. And as confusing as it was, as angry as she made me, I didn't want to lose her. I may not want her around—ever—but I didn't want to lose her.

"Ugh." I said. Then, reconsidering this admission of my true feelings, I blamed it on something else. "I need a snack."

"Grab me a beer?" Dad asked. A commercial had come on and he was starting to flip through the stations.

"Fine." I said.

"Don't fill up. We ordered pizza." Dad called after me.

"Mmm." I replied.

I walked into the kitchen and started digging through all of the drawers. Isabella did most of the shopping so I was never sure what we would have, especially since I have a tendency to snack late at night and not remember what I'd eaten in the morning. Meanwhile, who knew what Edward probably ate every time he came over. I opened the fridge and then stood there, frowning: what did he eat? At school he just picked at his food… probably worried about his weight and their unhealthy calories. But he never ate here either. I smirked; the dick probably lived on protein shakes or something like that. It would explain why he and his siblings were all so freaking—

There was a short cough behind me.

"Gen?"

"Hey, Richard." I grumbled.

He sighed. "It's Edward."

I glanced up at him: usually when he dealt with me he had a weird little smile, like he found my face amusing. Today he was tight-faced and worried.

"I like Richard better." I told him. "Suits you."

Edward shook his head and walked over to stare out the window. I grabbed an apple from the counter and kept watching him as I washed it. He waited until I took a big bite and then he turned to look miserably at me.

"Why don't you like me?"

I inhaled a large chunk of apple and began to cough. He watched until I was done and then he asked again.

"Gen, just tell me: why don't you like me?" His weird amber, yellow eyes stared at me in intense insistence.

"I don't know." I said awkwardly. I rested the apple against my mouth for a second, thinking. "I guess… you're bad for my sister."

He looked down at the floor for a long second, looking like he was contemplating death or torture or something overdramatic like that. To contrast his mood, I hopped up on the counter and began to swing my feet like a five year old. He finally looked off when I began kicking off my shoes and one flew across the room and hit the microwave.

"I know that." He said. "But you didn't like me before that, did you?"

"Oh, that." I rolled my eyes. "I think that was jealousy. And you're creepy." I shrugged. "Nothing too bad." I bit my lip and then grinned. "You should have seen my first boyfriend."

He paused for a second and then sat down at the kitchen table, looking up at me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Gen, if—"

"Hey." I interrupted. "Don't take any of this too personally. It's not like you like me either."

He smiled then and suddenly my smile dropped. There was no happiness in that smile, just a bitterness that seemed somehow at odds with anything I could ever understand, like there was some inside joke at his own expense.

"I might. If I could read your mind and see what you really thought." He shook his head. "You may not be the nicest or… most likable person," I scowled. "but I'm glad Bella has you and Charlie."

"Then maybe you should stop stealing her." I replied.

There was a long awkward silence.

I stared down at my hands, feeling irritated and embarrassed. I'm sure he didn't know, didn't understand… I didn't understand. But that moment, half a year ago when Bella had seen the pain and fear in my face and refused to tell me the cause… it had hurt. And it still hurt, still tore at me every time I looked at my twin sister. No matter how frustrated or distant your sister might be, you stand by her. You take care of you family and you don't leave them hanging out to dry. Not for a boy you met months ago.

"Gen." Edward said suddenly. I looked up to find him standing right beside me, his face sad. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have let any of this happen."

I blinked for a second, finding myself in a situation I didn't fully understand, confused at how serious things had finally become. "So break up with her, Dickhead." I glanced down at my wrist and remembered all my crazy theories about him. "Before you get me killed."

Edward winced and turned away, looking out the window again so I couldn't see his face. Then he nodded and left the room.

Crap.

…

He broke up with her the next day.

He came up to the house to tell me, said he'd been planning to leave a note. He was very stiff, like he was afraid to show how he truly felt. It made me start to think that I should feel guilty. Instead I chose angry.

"Where is my sister?" I asked as he started to turn away.

He shrugged, pretending indifference. "In your backyard. You should go comfort her. She's a little upset."

"Ass."

He looked up, surprised, but that was all I offered. I slammed the front door in his face and walked to the back, making my way out into the yard to find absolutely no sign of my sister.

I closed my eyes, pinched the bridge of my nose, and sighed.

"Edward, you complete." I pulled out my cellphone not even sure what I was going to do with it. "And total." I began scrolling through the numbers, beginning to jog a bit down the path as I searched for a sign of my stupid sister. "Ass!"

Then, remembering his view on the Cullens, I called Billy Black.

"Genny?" His voice said when he heard my voice. He sounded concerned, but not surprise.

"Isabella's missing." I grumbled.

There was a hint of fear and resignation in his voice as he replied. "With the Cullens?"

"No." I slowed down, unable to focus on the path and the phone at the same time. "Not with the Cullens… Why-?" I cut up, not wanting to waste time arguing about his reasons. "Edward broke up with her and she's… He said she was in the yard. But she's not here." My voice was getting more and more irritated. I think Billy took it as frantic.

"It will be alright, Genny." He soothed. I heard him call for Jacob and then he was back with me. "Where are you?"

"In the middle of the- Ooooh." I was in the woods. I took a deep breath, all thoughts of Bella vanishing as I remembered my own painful past. A winding road, a storm… I looked up at the sky and saw clouds ready to burst. Any minute now the darkness would return and the wind would catch my hair and—I began to spin around, checking my surroundings—and Victoria would appear. She was probably watching even now, waiting for me to be alone. Waiting to change me or kill me. I squeezed my eyes shut, free hand tight over my forehead as I tried to forget that that same hand bore scars across the wrist from my previous walk in the woods.

"_Genevieve, are you there?"_

I jumped and spun around before realizing I still had the cell to my ear.

"Who is this?" I choked.

"Sam. Jacob's helping his dad to the car."

"Sam?" I closed my eyes again, trying to breathe. My sister was missing and I was having a panic attack over freaking vampires.

"Sam Uley." His deep voice was soothing. It reminded me of someone else's. "Tell me everything."

I hurriedly repeated the story.

"Hmmm." Sam replied.

I waited.

"Get back inside. Billy and Charlie will be there soon." Sam ordered.

"Charlie?" I said as I spun around and began walking quickly back, all too relieved to obey.

"I'll call him next. He will come."

"Ok." Then I hesitated. Was I really that much of a coward? I turned to look into the woods.

"Are you going home, Gen?" Sam asked.

"Um…"

"Gen…" He said, his voice flat. "Do not make me look for you, too."

"You have one hour." I said, more for my own benefit then for Bella's.

I hung up the phone and marched back to the house. I was too afraid to look back.

Sister or no sister.

…

I heard them calling her name late into the night, no matter how loud I turned the tv to drown it out.

I wonder now if it was my imagination, my conscience pricking me, trying to tell me that I should be out there calling her name as well. Maybe I shouldn't be cowering in the safety of my warm home when my sister was out there in the rain, missing. Maybe I should care a little that she could be hurt, that she could even be dead: it wouldn't be the first bad thing to happen to my family when Edward was around.

I turned the volume up again and tried to think of some snarky comment to make about the commercials. If Isabella Swan was dead, it was her own fault. And if I followed her into the woods and found a pair of fangs tearing out my throat? That would be her fault too.

I stayed on the couch.

They kept calling her name.

Eventually, I started listing all the reasons I should hate her: choosing the dick, being my parents' favorite daughter, hurting Dad when she left last spring, stealing Tyler, all the other guys she'd led on, getting me almost killed, not telling me why, not telling me anything, not telling me what I desperately needed to know.

The front door slammed open.

I sat up, curious despite myself. I tried to ignore the fact that my heart was now beating urgently in my ears: I knew I shouldn't care about the bundle my father was hurrying over to the couch and I didn't move as he approached, my sister curled up and pale in his arms. I shouldn't be frozen here staring at her closed eyes. I should be shrugging and going back to my television show. That's what Bella would have done if something happened to me, gone right back to Edward and forgotten my name.

"Move." Dad urged me, wanting to lay my frozen sister on the couch.

I blinked up at him, face still frozen in a mask of boredom.

"Move for your sister!" He yelled.

I jumped slightly, but his words only made me harden my face. I stood quickly, feeling a little resentful, and stormed out of the room holding my scarred wrist tightly with my uninjured hand. Not bothering to think about where I was going, I soon found myself in the kitchen, staring at my reflection in the dark of the windows as I heard people crowding into the house, into the living room, talking about Bella while her sister stood in another room and just stared.

I was still there when Sam Uley came in and stopped in the doorway. I saw him in the window and his eyes went to my wrist, narrowing when he saw the scarf I wore wrapped around it.

"You didn't follow?" He asked. His voice always sounded angry, but I'd known of him long enough not to mind.

"No." I waved a hand at the windows. "Who knows what's out there?"

Sam nodded. "Smart girl." He said gruffly. Then he pointed at my wrist. "You were hurt?"

I turned to blink up at him. "Last year." I didn't say more. Lies are less fun when you know the truth is unbelievable.

"Hm." Sam said.

"Hm." I agreed. I went back to staring out the window, realized it was only bringing all my fears to mind, and looked down at the floor.

"Scary world." Sam said, seeming to read my thoughts. I laughed, my voice a little bitter. "But your sister is alright."

"That's nice." I commented.

"She seemed upset though." Sam commented. He glanced behind as someone called a question I couldn't understand and then shook his head sharply before moving into the room. "You know about that, Gen?"

"Yes."

He stepped in front of me and waited for me to look up at him. "Tell me."

I bit my lip. "You know her boyfriend?" His face darkened and he nodded. "Well, I…"

"You have something to do with the Cullens?" Sam asked when I didn't continue.

"No. Just once. I think…" I glanced back to make sure we were alone and then I whispered the words to him, hand raised to my mouth like I was a child telling a secret. "I think I convinced him to break up with her."

Sam laughed shortly, before giving me a friendly cuff on the shoulder. "So you're to thank for all this? Good one, Gen." He saw my look of uncertainty and gave me a more serious smile. "You know you did your sister a huge favor, right?"

I blinked up at him, not at all sure how to feel about that statement.

"Sam?" A voice called from the hallway. Paul? It didn't sound angry…

Sam gave my shoulder one last squeeze and then marched into the hallway. "Not tonight." He said and then he and his friends walked out the front door.

I turned back to the forest.

I was too afraid to turn away.

..

..

Author's note:

Hey! So, this was pretty much an Edward chapter... Also getting the werewolves introduced and starting to push Gen toward their world. I think we haaave... one? two more chapters? and then Jacob will be in pretty much all of them. Gen has some stuff to get out of the way first.

Again, two things to check out: 1. I have tumblr! Link is on my profile. Check it out for some spoiler pics and to ask me any questions you might have about writing in general. Planning to post a one shot on there eventually. 2. POLL. I want to continue my vampire story but am not sure who the love interest should be. So go vote on that. Right now, Edward is winning.

Commenters!

cpjjgj: Here ya go.

KYKEMD: Ok. You have no idea the conversation you brought up between my beta and me. Holy cow. No, I don't want to do the normal HEA: In fact, that's been my biggest concern about writing, after the lovey dovey stuff. We'll see if I can pull it off though :/. And as Gen gets more into the supernatural world we'll see her winning some battles and start to stop worrying so much about Bella. ... One other note, SWBL is mainly an attempt at romance so it's still going to have a bit of a HEA, possibly. If you're really against that, my vampire version, All Eyes on Me, is focused a lot more on just getting away from all that easy peasy lovey dovey, while hopefully having a good romance too. As to killing off Bella? We'll see. My ideas for Bella's end are very similar to my ideas for another fanfic so I'm still working things out. Thanks for your questions!

Maiannaise: I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for... But Paul/Gen is definitely coming up and Paul/Gen fight has sparked several scene ideas in my head... I really like writing those two and with Jacob coming in more, Paul and Gen are going to get a little more time together then they can handle... not to mention Jacob/Paul's relationships with Gen starting to contrast more as they both start to get to know each other. Let me know if you think I misinterpreted your request tho.

Dee: Aaaawwww! Thanks! I'm working on a one shot to go with chapter 20 to show a little bit more of that issue. It's hard to show exactly what Jacob's thinking when Gen is still quite a bit self-absorbed. I'm so glad you like Gen tho! Hope you like this chapter too!

dream lighting: I know right? Wait, did I say that last time? If so, right again. Ugh, Bella.

January Lily: I've had worse birthdays. Having a handsome man carrying me around might have made things a little better for me too. Does that sound weird? Who cares. Sorry I forgot you.

...

Thanks for reading and thanks for commenting! hope you like it :)


	19. Chapter 19

Everyone else left slowly, in waves. I stayed in the kitchen, sitting in the dark so I could watch the woods for any sign of… Hell if I knew. I wasn't really thinking anything: just watching the woods and listening as the talk in the other room got quieter… then quieter… still quieter… quiet… silent… only the night around us, only the wind whispering at the windows, only the patter of rain lulling me to calm down. Calming me as my chin began to drop, my eyelids grew heavy. Everything was so still. So peaceful. Calm.

RING.

"SH**!" I yelled. I heard my dad shushing me from the other room as he ran to catch the phone. As he reassured the voice on the other line I rolled my eyes, looking over at the clock. 5am. Who the hell calls at 5am? And why am I so vulgar this morning? Oh, right, it's 5 am and I haven't slept. Sh**.

"Genny?" I turned to find my dad, his face ancient and exhausted and smiling falsely. "You should be in bed."

"Yeah, well." I shrugged and stood up, walking over to snatch a mug from the dish drainer. "That would involve stairs. One of many enemies I don't feel like facing right now." I grimaced as I thought of the others.

He laughed. "I'll call the school in a couple hours. You ok with a day off?"

"This is Gen, dad. Not Isabella." I yawned hugely as I dumped a load of apple cider into my cup and attempted to drink the powder. I sputtered and hurried over to spit it out in the sink.

"Go to bed, Genny." My dad said. "We'll be here when you wake up."

I glanced over, giving him a tired smile. He thinks I'm concerned? But there must have been some fear or guilt or worry in my smile because my dad came over and engulfed me in the first hug he'd given me since I was nine.

When he pulled away, our eyes were both bright.

Then he practically pushed me to the stairs and I was forced to go back to my room.

I didn't plan to go to sleep so instead I checked my phone and found seven missed texts from Jacob and Paul. Luckily, the very thought of interacting with both of those two exhausted me.

I was out before I hit the pillow.

…

That next month?

It was _amazing._

It was like I didn't have a sister. Like she'd died, but without the grief. My sister was still the boring idiot she'd always been, but now she didn't bother me with it. She never said much at all anymore, actually.

In my head it was karma, justice, good old payback. She'd put that dick before her _family_? Before her _twin sister?_ 'Fine.' I imagine the universe saying. 'You only want him? I'll take him. How you like them apples, Bella Swan?'

I did not yet feel guilty about my role in all of this. As far as I was concerned, Isabella would be much healthier without a Cullen spoiling her for all other human company. And if a flicker of compassion or conscience hit me? I just had to look at my wrist and study the scars James had left to remember him by. All in all Bella's refusal to help me in one my moment of need had left me rather coldhearted when it came to her. The lack of apology, the lack of change over the past months had only fueled my resentment until hearing her shriek in the middle of the night from nightmares or heartbreak was almost boring to me.

Can you blame me?

Bella's friends did.

In fact, I think they stuck with her for a lot longer than they would have had I been supportive. I like to think it was still shorter than if I'd threatened them to help her out. But as it was, I got to enjoy their glares for the first month too. It was fascinating: the crowd of boys who 'loved' her started to realized they had no clue who she was. People stopped talking about her.

Then we started to realize…

Bella wasn't going to wake up.

"Morning, Gen."

I blinked in surprise as I walked into the kitchen to find my father. Lately he'd been out the door before I hit the first snooze on my alarm. Bella, of course, had driven off fifteen minutes ago in her monster of a truck. And now I found myself alone with my dad.

"Morning." I said uncertainly. I began to walk around the tiny kitchen, trying to find materials for a short breakfast. A dry bowl of fruit loops and a glass of oj later, I sat across from my dad at the kitchen table.

"I want to talk to you."

"Mmmmmmm…." I said. Hurry, hurry, hurry! But you can only eat dry cereal so fast before your mouth just says 'no'.

"You been talking to your sister?" Dad asked.

I shook my head slowly and surreptitiously shoveled another huge spoonful of fruit flavored sugar wheat into my mouth.

My dad frowned deeply. "Has she been talking to anybody?" He asked then.

I looked at him for a minute, wondering if I was now being employed as a spy. If so, what were the chances I could convince my dad to agree to a secret code and messages left in a pre-agreed to spot in the backyard? Would we be team Swan? Why did I have such a stupidly girly last name? Then I shook my head, pushed a perfectly styled curl out of my face, and absentmindedly poured half the glass of orange juice into my fruit loops.

"Has she—"

"Sh**!" I'd taken a bite of the orange juice fruit loops. He frowned at me and I winced. "Sorry. Um."

"Has she gotten any better?" Apparently my sister's zombieness is more important than my bad mouth. Thank goodness.

"No. But give it time dad. At least a week for everyone month they dated." I took another bite of fruit loops and winced at the tongue deadening sweetness. After that they weren't half bad.

"So that's since the day of your accident?" Dad asked.

I froze for a second and then replied as casually as I could, refusing to look at my scars.

"No. Since before homecoming I think."

My dad sighed the deep and heartbroken sigh of a man who has only daughters. Which reminded me.

"You tell mom?"

He shook his head and looked out the window. "Would it help?"

"No."

He laughed. "Ok, Gen."

I chugged the rest of the orange juice and ran out of there as fast as I could. I saw my dad follow me out of the house as I turned the key to the ignition of my little white car. His face was lost in thought, his brow furrowed with concern for his younger daughter. I bit my lip, finding new thoughts creeping in to my head as I drove away.

How long was this going to last? A month without Isabella was wonderful. Two months? A gift. But if it didn't end…

What kind of idiot reacts to a boy dumping them like they were-oh, I don't know—tortured and almost killed by a pair of vampires? You'd think she'd been through some horrifying trauma… and she has! But she walks through that with a shrug and is then flattened by her first boyfriend moving out of state? Gee, I wonder which of the Swan twins inherited their mother's flair for the dramatic?

To be honest?

Both of them.

I'm… I'm not proud of how the next months went.

Oh, who am I kidding.

It was amazing.

...

Author's Note:

Really short chapter so I'm publishing early. More Longer chapter to come tomorrow. I'll respond to your wonderful reviews then. Thanks again for reading!


	20. Chapter 20

**OCTOBER**

The first month of Isabella torture was fairly tame, quite traditional actually. Shaving cream in hand, tickling the nose with a feather, bowl of warm water on her hand while she slept. This was all made easier for the brief week my dad made me move back down with her, thinking it would help her nightmares to have me there. That ended about the second I turned everything single thing she owned upside down.

Apart from Isabella I was pretty busy. I was starting to get more stamina back and so I was forcing a few of my teammates to stay after school for some off season practice. It was good for me: I felt like I was waking up, finding myself again. Who cared about life and death and sisters when there was _basketball_?

I said this to Liz one day, grinning from success as I sunk a shot I'd been trying for an hour to get, a shot that used to be my warm up.

She laughed at me. "We've missed you, Gen."

Cassandra was nearby fighting over a rebound with Ann. "Yeah, who else do we have to share our messed up priorities with?" She called.

"Speak for yourself." Liz shot back.

"Yeah. My priorities are sorted exactly how they should be." I sniffed.

"Which would be how?" Our team captain, Annalise asked, coming back from the bathroom and looking around for some clue of what we were talking about.

"Oh, you know. Basketball. Clothes. Food. Boys. Um… What else is there?" I asked, simply trying to think of another thing to list.

My friends burst out laughing and refused to let that go until the end of practice.

"So, you still awake?" Liz asked at the end of practice, grinning as the rest of the giggles started to die down and the girls started to pack up.

"Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"Um, cuz it's Friday?" She said. "Dur."

"Yeah." I said. "And it's Forks. Besides, I have work tomorrow. And the café's got a Halloween special starting tomorrow."

"Geeeen." Liz moaned. She grabbed my gym bag and we headed out to the parking lot. "You doing anything next Saturday?"

"You mean Halloween?" I asked. "And I feel like you're asking means that I will."

"Party at Crowley's." She said. "Costumes optional."

"Uh, huh…" I said doubtfully. "I guess I can try."

"You're coming." Liz said. "We'll find you something sexy from Jessica's old costumes… but with gloves or something, I guess. Maybe sleeves. No, no sleeves."

I nodded mutely, wondering now if my friends all thought it was vanity that caused me to wear a scarf, a bracelet, or in this case a wristband wherever I went. They seemed to like me well enough anyway: and who knew if that would be the case if I started spouting the truth? Besides which, I'd noticed none of my closest friends had talked to Isabella since they'd gotten the story of our fall through a hotel window. All in all, lies were yet again the better option.

Then again, Halloween made me start to wonder…

It didn't occur to me that people were going to dress up as monsters, though I probably could have handled that by itself and dealt just fine with the nightmares of everyone I cared about getting bit by vampires. What hit me was the fact that most of the party took place with only lava lamps and orange strings of light for illumination: most of Tyler's house was completely dark.

"Gen!"

"Effing hell damn sh** f***."

"Um." Tyler blinked down at me, apparently lost for words after my eloquent greeting. Liz, standing beside me, was having a hard time not busting the stiches in her black cat costume from laughing so hard at the two of us. Her boyfriend took the opportunity to run off, probably in search of beer.

"What do you want, Tyler." I said, my foul mood making him wince with every other word.

"To say hi." He defended himself. "And to offer to get you a drink."

"Yeah, I'll get my own drink, thanks." I said.

"I'll get you a can and I won't open it." Tyler said, exasperated and a little offended.

I sighed and relented. "Why don't you walk me there and let me pick what I want? Compromise?"

Tyler grinned. "Alright." He tried to loop an arm around my waist and I pretended not to notice, carefully sidestepping and heading in what I remembered was the direction of the kitchen.

"This way?"

"Yeah." When we got to the kitchen we chatted a bit while I sipped a can of something fruity and he poured himself a beer. We had a bit of catching up to do, though I still wasn't convinced it was what I wanted to do. That was the way I always felt about Tyler: uncertain.

Like I didn't have enough of that feeling these days.

I waited until someone called Tyler's name and then I muttered a goodbye before he could stop me. I was starting to get claustrophobic, after all. And bored. Though I suppose that was preferable to falling for that idiot yet again. So I pushed my way through the couple dozen people who'd shown up—Tyler's popular, but our school is only so big—finding my way to the back door. I set my drink down on the back porch steps and looked around, trying to find a good space to clear my head.

To the left was a forest. Almost every other house in Forks had been built next to the forest: a perfectly designed nightmare for animal attacks, serial killers wanting to hide a body, vampires, and girls who were afraid of the dark. To my right was the main road, running up to the front of Tyler's house where it turned a corner. Houses lined it up to the corner and then there were woods again.

Starting to feel a little creeped out, I turned to look back into the house, peering through the window just in time to get a glimpse of fangs… pale white skin… a breeze caught at my hair… I let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Gen?"

"SH**!"

I spun around to find three of the LaPush boys standing right behind me. They were all trying very hard not to laugh.

"You ok?" Jared asked.

"Oh. I just thought I saw…" I glanced back at the house to find the window empty, the owner of the vampire costume having moved on to another room. "What are you doing out here?"

Jared laughed and tapped the wolf mask he'd pulled back to rest above his forehead. "Trick or treating of course."

"Want some?" A voice asked quietly.

I turned to see the plastic bag bulging with candy and then I looked up to find Paul, a little surprised at the unfamiliar look on his face. He stared back at me intently, searching for something in my eyes. There was some desperation in his face, a longing I had never seen before, and it caught at me and held me looking up into his eyes until he started to turn red and looked away, having not found whatever he was looking for. I frowned, not sure how to feel about what had just happened yet knowing I didn't like it.

"You ok?" The third boy, Embry, asked.

I shrugged. "Sure." Absentmindedly, I took Paul's bag of candy and started digging, searching for something with peanut butter and chocolate. "What else do you guys have planned tonight? Oo, butterfingers!"

"Oh, you know." Jared winked at me. "Thought we might crash a party."

"Speaking of which, whose party is this?" Paul said, looking critically over the large house and the close forest. He shifted his weight slightly as he spoke and I realized that the three of them were standing in such a way as to form a human wall between me and the trees. Weird.

"Tyler Crowley." I said, answering his question.

"That dick from your school?" Jared asked.

"No." I said, holding back a laugh. "More of a douche."

"Oh! That guy from the beach!" Paul exclaimed.

"That_ helped_?" Embry muttered.

"We're definitely crashing this party. Lead on, Gen." Paul grinned widely, rubbing his hands together like an evil mastermind coming up with a plot. I took one step toward the house, not sure what I was about to unleash.

"Unless you'd like us to take you home, Gen." Embry intervened. "Up to you."

I stood for a second, considering. Gradually, the thought of rubbing my giant of an ex-boyfriend in Tyler's face grew too much for the practical concerns of what my giant ex-boyfriend was actually going to do to Tyler's house. So I gave a shrug, a sigh, and scooped up my drink.

"Follow me."

It was a little more difficult then I'd expected to go back in. Feeling the darkness inside, away from the dim glimmer of moon and star, was even more close this time around. Luckily, Paul, being incredibly unsympathetic to my life as a trauma victim, grew impatient and gave me a little push through the doorway so that he and his friends could go through. He continued to keep his hand on my shoulder as he guided me through the throngs of people and the reminder of his hulking presence kept me from throwing in the cards and sprinting to the back door.

"Here ok?" Paul asked.

We were in the back corner of Tyler's living room, tucked away basically every light in the house. I could barely see his face as he turned me around to talk.

"Sure."

"Alright then stay right here and I'll get us some beer." Paul ordered.

"I have a –" He had already gone off, bulldozing his way back through my classmates.

When Paul came back, I'd moved but only to a spot with a bit better lighting. He still gave me a dirty look as I accepted the beer can he'd brought for me. We started talking, reminiscing about the old days when we'd actually talked. Part of me wanted to bring up that night in LaPush, to ask why he'd brought me out there… But I couldn't risk him figuring out any part of Isabella and my elaborate lies. After a while, Paul got that weird look on his face again, stopping to stare searchingly into my eyes. I wasn't sure how to respond: with Paul things were always complicated, now even more so as Jared walked by and gave Paul a slug across the shoulder.

"Trying again?" Jared laughed. "Good luck."

Paul turned and gave his friend a murderous look, but Jared was the least of our trouble: Tyler'd seen us too. And he was drunk as all hell.

"Crap." I muttered.

"Gen? Oh, crap." Paul said, stepping in front of me as he saw Tyler charging toward us.

"Whoer you?" Tyler demanded.

"None of your business, Tyler." I snapped. I glanced over to see how Paul was going to respond, but he was biting his lip. With a frown, I realized his hands were clenched so tightly that veins were showing on his forearms. He was very close to attacking Tyler, but he was… trying not to? Honestly, I was surprised that Paul was still even standing next to me: he wasn't exactly known for his patience...

Another look made me realize that Jared was actually holding Paul back, his hand gripping Paul's arm so firmly it made me wince. I stepped closer when I noticed Jared's lips moving, only coming up with more questions.

"Sam won't like it." I heard Jared hiss. Then: "…Dangerous..."

Ha. Paul? Dangerous? Then I realized my head was tilted at a 45 degree angle just to see the back of his head. I slipped up to Paul's other side and took his hand, feeling a little awkward until he relaxed enough to let me slip my fingers between his and lead him away.

"Don you walk away fromme!" Tyler yelled.

"Tyler." I snapped. "I _will_ kill you."

He blinked at me, confused and actually a little nervous. I used the distraction to lead Paul out onto the back porch again. Jared and Embry followed behind, forming another wall, this time protecting the party from Paul's bad temper.

"I'm ok." Paul grumbled.

"We're still leaving." Embry said, shoving Jared a little when Jared only laughed. "Want us to walk you home?"

"No…" I tapped my beer can and glanced back at the house. "No, I should wait for Liz. She might need a driver."

Embry nodded and started to walk off, Jared following close behind. I still had Paul by the hand and I kept him for a moment longer.

"Want to hang out some time?" I asked, following up on what I'd thought I'd read in his expressions so far that night.

Paul smiled at me… but he shook his head. "I don't think I can. Usually, uh, pretty busy and…" He sighed, looking away. "Kinda a one-time thing, ok, Gen?"

"Not really." I said, pulling my hand away. I scowled as he refused to look at me. "You can't just call me up when it's convenient. That is the definition of…" Of what Tyler had done, basically.

"It's just the way things are." Paul said shortly. I started to argue but he started walking away, his legs too long for me to hope to keep up. "I have to go."

"Are you_ s****ing_ me?" I hissed after him.

Then he and his stupid friends were gone.

"I don't believe this!" I stomped back to the porch and sat down, taking a swig of lukewarm beer and hating everything. "I don't believe this." I repeated. I frowned, not feeling much better. "Douche." I muttered. Still nothing. "Jerk. S***head." Ok, that was a bit nicer.

I continued to say rude things, eventually moving on to saying rude things about Tyler for chasing Paul away. Gradually I got a little lonely. I'd texted Liz where I was but she'd just sent me a garbled message that she was 'buzy', probably making out with her boyfriend. Eventually, I decided what I need was someone to complain about Tyler AND Paul to… and there was only one man for that job.

Jacob Black.

...

Author's Note:

Ok. So we're getting to the Jacob. And it only took me 20 chapters to get them to start talking voluntarily. Wheee.

VOTE! My poll is on my profile. Paul is winning as the love interest for Eyes on Me, Edward is a close second.

Check out my Tumblr too. Some pics on their. Questions answered.

Comments!

Maiannaise: Does that answer your question? Oh Paul. And she's texting Jacob but we'll have to wait to see what happens with that. :)

Lady of Sign: Awesome! Hope you like the update!

Lady Syndra: Yeah... I think part of it is Gen doesn't really want anybody's help... But definitely something that she'll need to be working out as the story goes on.

GenxJacobX4ever: Hmmmm... I'll have to think about that. Everything I write tends to be more gradual than the commenter's idea :/ Again, a one shot with Ch 21 will clear up some of teh Jacob questions. Thanks a ton for the comment! Glad people like 'Gencob' (it's cuter when you say it outloud)(feel free to come up with other ship names)

January Lily: Well there you go. Comment!

Alliecat1637: Thanks! Hope you like it!

Bridgetlynn: Wow, I'm glad someone picked up on my hints about Paul. Yeah, I was kinda sad writing this chapter as I'm actually kinda liking them together. But Jacob! And I think I'm the same way: while researching all her characters, it's always interesting to see the backstories there. I love Carlisle's story and so on... And you made total sense! Glad you like Gen :)

Guest: Thanks!

Mariihamadeh: Ha. good question. Still getting there.

Taffyrose: Thanks! Hope you like the updates!

DaughterXBelikova1923: Hopefull things will look up for her after this... for a while, at least.

January Lily: See! here you get TWO responses! That makes it ok.

..

Thanks again for reading!

-nixie


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